UPDATE (May 29, 4:33 p.m. PT) — Greg Porter, the suspect in last week's hit-and-run at Portland State University, was arraigned on 12 counts Tuesday afternoon in Multnomah County District Court.
In addition to three counts of attempted murder and first-degree assault, Porter, 61, also faces multiple charges of reckless driving and failure to perform the duties of a driver to injured persons.
In court Tuesday, he appeared behind thick glass. He asked questions of the public defender and seemed to follow the proceedings.
Porter was arrested Friday as the lone suspect in the hit-and-run that left three women injured. Police and witnesses say a blue Mazda Tribute SUV drove on the sidewalk a little after 10 a.m., hitting three women before leaving the scene.
A witness told investigators that "he saw a student go flying into the air after being struck by the SUV and that he watched as the vehicle continued to drive on the sidewalk," according to new court documents.
One victim received a lacerated liver and spleen, court documents state. Another victim was taken into surgery with what court records describe as "life-threatening injuries." A third victim suffered a fractured leg.
A spokeswoman for Oregon Health & Science University said Tuesday that all three women remain in the hospital.
Greg Porter, the 61-year-old man accused of intentionally running his SUV into three women at Portland State University, appeared in court Tuesday afternoon at the Justice Center in Portland, May 30, 2018.
Beth Nakamura / OPB
Porter told investigators he didn't know the victims, according to court records. He was arrested Friday in Northeast Portland several hours after the hit-and-run. A Portland Police officer reported that during the arrest Porter "told him that the vehicle he was driving was his and that he was driving the SUV downtown on that day."
A witness told investigators that "the vehicle sounded like someone with the gas pedal to the floor." The same witness was able to take "a burst of photos, and that he watched the vehicle rapidly accelerate." The witness gave the photos to police, which showed the rear license plate of a blue Mazda Tribute.
The plate is registered to Porter.
Another witness told police he was walking his dog in Northeast Portland when he saw Porter sitting in his badly damaged vehicle. The witness went inside, went online and read a news article about the hit-and-run. When he learned police were still looking for a blue SUV, the witness went back outside, took a photo of the vehicle and called 911.
Court records show Porter was convicted of driving while intoxicated in 1996 in Texas. He completed an alcohol class afterward.
He told investigators he uses cannabis daily for pain, court documents show, but last used marijuana two days before the hit-and-run.
Porter also told investigators he uses alcohol twice per year, according to court records.
Court records also show he told investigators he's been living out of his car for the last year.
Porter's next court appearance is set for June 6.