Portland Man Drives through Parade Route

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PORTLAND, Ore. — Newly obtained dashcam footage shows a Portland man plowing past blockades and nearly hitting several people including small children along the Rose Festival’s Grand Floral parade route in June. Sidney Mecham, 42, of Portland pleaded not guilty to 38 counts, including felony unlawful use of a weapon and attempting to elude an officer.

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The video then showed Mecham swerving around a car and drive through a row of cones blocking off the exit at Broadway-Weidler Street in North Portland. He raced past a reader board flashing "Event in Progress” and drove up onto the ivy covered shoulder to avoid ODOT dump trucks blocking the exit ramp.

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Mecham drove around another ODOT crew and their vehicles before turning onto Weidler Street. He came within a few feet of several people waiting for the parade, including several small children playing in the closed roadway.

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Mecham is a registered sex offender. He has prior convictions from 1999 for attempted first-degree rape and first-degree sodomy in Multnomah County. In 2016, Mecham was convicted of third-degree sodomy and third-degree sexual abuse in Clatsop County, according to court records.

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