A trial for a half-dozen felony counts was started Monday for a guy from Portland who got into the cab of an idle tow truck and fled as a Retriever Towing employee was fighting for his life.
In the July 10, 2022, alleged hijacking, Eric Clayson Streitzel, 38, allegedly sped up on Interstates 405 and 5 after boarding the truck on the east end of the Steel Bridge and weaving through Old Town, reaching speeds of up to 85 mph, according to the prosecution.
During his opening statement, prosecutor Chris Shull claimed that Mr. Streitzel drives the tow truck like he’s in a movie.
Ghislaine Pags, the defense lawyer, stated that the video was accurate and that her client’s violation of the law was definitely genuine. However, she contended that Streitzel was too mentally ill to comprehend his acts or knowingly commit the most serious crimes for which he is charged, such as assault, second-degree kidnapping, and first-degree robbery.
The Multnomah County jury was given dash cam footage that was oriented both forward and backward. In dramatic video, Travis Christ, the towing worker, is shown smashing on his vehicle’s back glass before sitting in the truck bed and dialing 911.
Christ told the jury that the four-foot high leap would not have been safe since he was unable to hop off after instinctively jumping on the back.
“Now I’m just getting drug if I snag my foot on my dolly,” he added. I hoped that he would have halted.
The footage indicates that Streitzel started passing automobiles in the right shoulder on I-5 before the berm narrowed and the truck clipped many other drivers. He then rear-ended a Hyundai Elantra and struck the broadside of a semi-truck trailer.
Christ, a veteran of the U.S. Army, claimed that after the numerous collisions at the end of the crazy ride, he crashed through the back glass of the truck, seriously hurting his head, ribs, and right shoulder. He spent months without a job.
On Tuesday, January 21, 2025, 38-year-old Eric C. Streitzel hears opening comments at his trial.Sparling, Zane, and The Oregonian
According to defense lawyer Pags, Streitzel was homeless when he crossed the Steel Bridge, saw the abandoned truck, and impulsively jumped inside.
She requested that the jury convict Streitzel of hit-and-run, theft, unlawful possession of a car, unauthorized use of a vehicle, and multiple lesser charges of third-degree assault.
She claimed that as he plunged more into his hallucination, he wasn’t considering Mr. Christ. He was focusing less on the outside world and more on the thoughts circling in his mind.
During the joyride, Streitzel was seen on dashcams acting strangely, tinkering with the radio, drinking Christ’s coffee, and apparently laughing at nothing.
He will stand trial for three days before Circuit Judge Leslie Bottomly and a jury consisting of seven women and six men, including an alternate. It is unknown if he will testify.
For The Oregonian/OregonLive, Zane Sparling reports on court proceedings and breaking news. You may contact him at [email protected], 503-319-7083, or pdxzane.
Your support is essential to our journalism. Visit OregonLive.com/subscribe to sign up as a subscriber right now.
Latest Public Safety News
-
More than a dozen defendants from Pacific NW included in President Trump s pardons in Jan. 6 attack
-
Cannabis shop worker accused of killing 2 would-be robbers denied bail
-
Settlement reached in Portland protesters suit over feds snatching man off street, violence in 2020
-
Gresham shooting leaves person with life-threatening injuries
