Homemade minibikes zoomed around downtown Portland, through red lights; 7 arrested, police say

The group of riders zipping around downtown Portland on tiny, homemade motorbikes was probably an amusing sight on Wednesday night.

It also was dangerous, leading to seven arrests, police said.

Officers first noticed the minibike riders "doing 'burnouts'" in Pioneer Courthouse Square shortly after 9 p.m. The bikers then raced down Southwest 6th Avenue, blowing through red lights, the Police Bureau said. Officers pursued them.

A police "air support" pilot watched from the skies as the bikers rumbled over the Burnside Bridge before rolling into a gas station at Southeast Alder Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, police reported. Officers quickly arrived and made arrests.

According to police, the bikers who each face a potential charge of reckless driving are: Dakota S. Van Syoc, 25; Jacob D. Sollers, 38; Kyle M. Kutz, 32; Lathan T. Nagle, 27; Dwight E. Guthrie, 27; and Brandon J. McAndrew, 31.

Along with reckless driving, Stanley J. Hawes, 27, also faces an attempt-to-elude-police charge.

Police towed the apparently homemade bikes, which the Police Bureau said had "small engines, no license plates and no required lighting."

The bureau said one officer injured his hand while making arrests and went to the hospital. He may miss a week of work as a result.

- The Oregonian/OregonLive;