By Drew Marine
Published: Mar. 30, 2023 at 8:21 PM PDT
PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) – Lauda Lacayo-Gilman is in complete disbelief.
“So, so many feelings,” she said.
Nearly over a year ago, she reported her 2005 Scion TC stolen near her apartment in North Portland and got a new car, figuring it was a lost cause. That is, until she got a call Saturday that her stolen scion had been found.
“At around 6 p.m., from the police department that my car had been found on E Burnside st like Burnside ? Who leaves a car on Burnside” she said.
It wasn’t until she got a message from someone on the PDX Stolen Cars Facebook page saying her old car may have been involved in a pursuit and crash in Gresham.
“As I’m processing this, then I start to read the story and even then, I’m skipping lines and jumping around just really trying to assess, is that my car? and I mean, it is,” Lacayo-Gilman said.
Just before 8 p.m. Saturday, the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office said two deputies were near the La Tapatia Mexican store when they stopped a suspected stolen car. Before deputies confronted the suspect, they said she reversed the scion hitting the Transit Police car, and took off, hitting another driver.
This started a pursuit onto SE Stark St but deputies lost the car. A few minutes later, it was reported the scion was driving the wrong way on Yamhill St hitting two cars near a four stop. There was an adult and a child.
The suspect driver, 21-year-old Yvette D Martinez was taken to the hospital with no serious injuries .
The Scion TCwas the fourth car stolen from Lacayo-Gilman in the last two years, but the other three were Subarus.
“Shocking. It’s like this is the new normal,” she said.
She believes the Scion company needs to be held accountable for not having proper anti-theft technology.
“They are putting out fixes but for me it’s too late. For me, my car was stolen, a person almost killed a child and I mean, everyone needs to be compensated. Even the people who were hit by that stolen Scion,” Lacayo-Gilman said.
When Martinez is released from the hospital, the sheriff’s office says she’ll be facing assault and reckless driving charges, among others.
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