Dramatic new video shows an Oregon man driving erratically and barging into a parade route, where he nearly rams his pickup truck into terrified crowds and then speeds off to evade police, KGW-TV reports.
The incident happened during the Rose Festival Grand Floral parade in Portland on June 10, but the television station just this week obtained the footage recorded by the driver’s own vehicle cameras.
The recordings show 42-year-old Sidney Mecham committing multiple driving infractions and then becoming frustrated by traffic and construction on a highway shortly before 10 a.m.
“They got it all blocked off. The Lloyd Center exit. The Convention Center exit. Every mother f***ing exit!” Mecham can be heard screaming while talking with someone on the phone.
Mecham then honks his horn repeatedly, yells “f**k you” multiple times at construction works and flips them off.
After barreling past a closed exit – which was blocked with barricades, signs and dump trucks – by driving onto a sloped, unpaved shoulder, Mecham quickly enters the parade route where people are walking and crowds are situated along both sides of the street.
The video shows panicked parade spectators screaming and scrambling as Mecham’s truck comes within feet of people, including small children.
As Mecham speeds down the parade route, a police officer on a motorcycle chases Mecham and tells him to stop, but Mecham – appearing calm and listening to country music – keeps on going.
Moments later, when Mecham is stopped at an intersection, another police officer in an unmarked SUV with emergency lights activated stops in front of Mecham, but he sped away when a lane cleared.
Mecham drove for numerous blocks before he stopped and was later arrested. Police say he was driving with a suspended license at the time and did not have insurance.
No injuries were reported, according to the Oregonian newspaper.
Prosecutors have charged Mecham with a raft of crimes stemming from the incident, including 17 counts of unlawful use of a weapon and 15 counts of recklessly endangering another person, in addition to charges of second-degree attempted assault, reckless driving and attempting to elude police. He has pleaded not guilty, KOIN-TV reports.
In June, Mecham’s attorney said that his client “was disoriented and trying to get away from a difficult situation,” according to KGW-TV.
Mecham is a registered sex offender. His criminal history includes a 1999 conviction for attempted first-degree rape and sodomy and a 2016 conviction of third-degree sodomy and sexual abuse. He was also charged in 2021 with six counts of sex abuse of a minor, a case that is still pending, according to KGW-TV.
He remains behind bars in the Multnomah County Inverness Jail
Featured Image: Parade spectators fleeing/Multnomah Circuit Court
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