Portland Airport Carjacking Ends With Man in ICU and Suspect in Custody
PORTLAND, Ore. — A carjacking at the Portland International Airport on Monday, after which a man is in intensive care with serious injuries, has led to the arrest of a convicted felon.
Vidal Pedraza (52) was arraigned on Tuesday on two counts of robbery, six counts of assault, two counts of theft, two counts of reckless endangerment, and charges of possession of a stolen vehicle, the unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, reckless driving, and criminal mischief.
According to court documents, a PDX driver was loading his vehicle at the airport when a man jumped into the driver’s seat and sped away.
Witnesses told police they saw a passenger in the back seat fall out of the vehicle and roll on the road. He was thrown from the vehicle when Pedraza swerved and hit a curb. He then drove onto a median, damaging an electrical box before correcting and returning to the road.
Court documents reveal that the passenger, who remains in intensive care, suffered five broken ribs, a concussion, and other head injuries that required staples.
The police are in possession of CCTV footage that shows Pedraza carjacking the PDX vehicle.
He has another open case in Multnomah County in which witnesses saw him smashing vehicles with a rock. The incident occurred on April 30 near Southwest 13th Avenue and Columbia Street. Three vehicles were significantly damaged.
Pedraza failed to appear for his arraignment in connection with that incident on May 1.