Portland woman with 2 DUII convictions charged with manslaughter, DUII following fatal crash

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A 36-year-old woman who was driving on a suspended license for a previous drunken driving conviction has been arrested and charged with manslaughter and a slew of other crimes in connection with a fatal crash Friday in Northeast Portland.

Portland police arrested Dorothy Rafeh and charged her with second degree manslaughter, driving under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving, felony failure to perform the duties of a driver, and misdemeanor driving with a suspended or revoked license.

Police said Rafeh was driving southbound on Northeast 122nd Avenue Friday evening when she attempted to turn left onto Stanton Street. She struck a motorcyclist headed northbound, police said. That man, 56-year-old Karl Moeller, died on the road.

A passerby tried to perform CPR on Moeller, officials said in a statement, and Rafeh reportedly left the area in a 2019 Toyota 4Runner. By the time officers arrived at the wide Northeast Portland thoroughfare, Rafeh was seen “returning to the crash site” in a different vehicle.

Dorothy Rafeh

Dorothy Rafeh is charged with second degree manslaughter, DUII and other crimes in connection with a crash that left one man dead.

In a statement, police said they arrested Rafeh on probable cause that she was driving under the influence of intoxicants. She was booked into Multnomah County Jail but later posted bail.

Rafeh said she’s a daily marijuana smoker and uses alcohol weekly, records show. She had also previously completed a drug and alcohol treatment program. She told police she owns two diners and convenient stores.

According to court records, Rafeh has previous convictions in multiple counties for driving under the influence of intoxicants and had her driving privileges revoked in May 2018 as a condition of a previous charge in Marion County. She also had a DUII conviction in Clackamas County.

Moeller’s death marks the 36th traffic related fatality on Portland streets, according to the metric used by police. Portland transportation officials said their official tally is 34 fatalities because they omit suicides and deaths that occur more than 30 days after a crash. Thirty-four people died on Portland streets in all of 2018. Portland is in the midst of a years-long effort known as Vision Zero which seeks to eliminate all traffic fatalities by 2025.

-- Andrew Theen

atheen@oregonian.com

503-294-4026

@andrewtheen

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