PORTLAND, Ore. — A man was waiting at the Providence Park Max station Tuesday afternoon when a stranger pushed him in front of an oncoming train.
"It doesn't always seem like the safest environment, but never would I think something would happen to me and definitely not something that random," the man, who did not want to be named, told KGW on Wednesday.
The incident happened around 4:19 p.m. Tuesday at the MAX station near the intersection of Southwest 17th Avenue and Yamhill Street. The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) identified the suspect as 31-year-old Michael Lynn Moreland. He was taken into custody and faces attempted murder charges.
The victim said there was no warning before he found himself on the ground.
"I was told by an officer that I'm actually lucky that it was not a double car because it would be highly unlikely he would have been able to stop," the rider said.
He suffered only minor injuries, thanks to a quick reaction from the train operator, who deployed the emergency braking system and stopped the train in time.
"All of a sudden, he ran towards the tracks and shoved the guy right into the tracks in front of me," said MAX operator Dave Chastain.
Chastain said he was caught off guard by the sudden violence, but he was able to stop.
"I didn't see any visible marks or anything on him," Chastain said, talking about the victim. "He was just more shaken up and surprised, kind of as much as I was."
Chastain said that he's only been a MAX operator for about a year, but he acknowledged that it can be hard to keep riders safe with so much unpredictable behavior.
"There's always something happening; there's always something going on," he said. "And you really have to be on your toes from this job more than you would ever think."
The suspect, Moreland, and the victim didn't know each other, MCSO reported. After the incident, Moreland ran away before deputies arrived. About 20 minutes later, deputies received reports of multiple thefts by a person matching Moreland's description several blocks away in the area of Southwest 10th Avenue and Yamhill Street. MCSO transit deputies and Portland police officers responded and took Moreland into custody.
Moreland now faces multiple charges, including second-degree attempted murder, second-degree attempted assault, fourth-degree assault, third-degree robbery, second-degree criminal mischief, third-degree escape, second-degree disorderly conduct and interfering with public transportation.
He appeared in court for arraignment Wednesday and entered an initial plea of not guilty.
According to court documents, Moreland told deputies that he "woke up as another human being" and that his life had been "continuously threatened" in the last few days.
While previously covering homelessness and addiction in Portland, KGW had interviewed Moreland multiple times. Just a week prior to the attack he shared his struggles with fentanyl addiction.
The victim said he's glad Moreland was taken into custody and added, "I just hope he gets the help he needs and he's not allowed to impact or hurt any other people."
The Portland Police Bureau is investigating the thefts that happened before Moreland was taken into custody.
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