Footage shows Sidney Mecham, 42, enraged after he finds traffic blocked in the city of Portland due to the annual Grand Floral Parade.
A man, police say, infuriated by street closures due to a local parade, is being accused of aggressively making his way past barriers through a town. Dashcam footage on his vehicle showed how close he came to hitting people.
In a newly released video, 42-year-old Sidney Mecham is enraged after he finds traffic blocked in the city of Portland because of its annual Grand Floral Parade.
All of the action was recorded by Mecham’s own dashcams, capturing footage inside and outside of his car. Video shows Mecham driving through a construction site.
Mecham then drove past street barriers and into the parade route. Stunned parade-goers can be seen scrambling to get out of the car’s way, some even started chasing Mecham on foot.
“First thing we saw was just people yelling, trying to get the kids out of the road,” witness Ariff Mohammed Ali says.
A police officer on a motorcycle tried to stop Mecham but the 42-year-old ignored the officer and steered off of the parade route. In another attempt to stop him, police cut Mecham off at a traffic light but he drove off.
Experts say they are lessons everyone can learn from the incident.
“The number one problem with drivers on the road these days is attitude. They get behind the wheel, they’re in a bad frame of mind and that leads to bad things happening when they’re out on the road,” Robert Sinclair of the American Automobile Association says. “If you feel yourself agitated or excited, pull over to the side of the road, take a moment, do some deep breathing exercises, just relax, calm yourself.”
Mecham was finally stopped and arrested. He has been behind bars since the June 10 incident and is awaiting trial on 38 charges, including using his car as a weapon.
Mecham, who has a lengthy criminal record, has pled not guilty. He is due in court next month.
