Samar Ahmed of Portland holds roses during Tuesday night’s vigil for Patrick Lobor.
The death of a 22-year-old man who crashed his car Saturday afternoon remains shrouded in mystery.
Patrick Lobor, a former Deering High School basketball player, struck a vehicle that had stopped for a red light at Brighton Avenue and Riverside Street. After the accident, police said, Lobor got out of his car, stumbled to the middle of the intersection and collapsed.
An autopsy showed he died of a stab wound to the chest. Police have said they are confident there was no foul play in Lobor’s death, but have not explained how he came to be stabbed.
Portland Lt. Robert Martin declined to say Wednesday whether a knife or other weapon was discovered. Officials have also not answered questions about the manner of death — such as homicide, suicide or accident.
“We continue to investigate,” Martin said. “We’re interviewing other people. We’ve gone back to reinterview some people. When we’re done, we’ll have a release at that time, not any sooner.”
Lobor’s car was towed from the scene, and vehicle forensics are part of the ongoing investigation.
The car, a 2004 Toyota Corolla, was under recall because of a faulty passenger-side airbag, but Martin said the airbags did not deploy in the crash and police don’t believe that was factor. Millions of cars equipped with airbags from the Japanese manufacturer Takata have been recalled for safety reasons. The airbags can explode during crashes and shoot shrapnel into the vehicle, which has caused at least 20 deaths worldwide since 2009.
A memorial was held Tuesday night for Patrick Lobor, who was 22 when he died Saturday from a stab wound in his chest.
Lobor’s family has said they disagree with the police conclusion that no crime was committed.
“Our family respects the work of Portland Police Department, but we disagree with their conclusion that there was no crime committed,” Robert Lado Lobor, Patrick’s father, said in a statement released Tuesday. “The information we received and what the police shared raises more questions than answers.”
When reached at their Munjoy Hill home Tuesday, Robert Lobor declined to elaborate on what police told the family or why they are now disputing it. In a brief phone conversation Wednesday, he again declined to comment. The family statement said there was no indication anything was wrong in the hours before their son’s death.
“We know our son,” Robert Lobor wrote. “He was running some errands with me before his death. He was behaving normally with nothing out of character. There was a difference of less than two hours from when Patrick left his family home and the tragic accident at Riverside Street.”
The family of Sudanese refugees who came to Portland in 2004 faced tragedy four years ago when Patrick’s brother, Richard Lobor, 23, was shot and killed at an apartment at 214 Brighton Ave. His murderer, Abdirahman Hussein Haji-Hassan, has since been convicted.
In the statement, the Labor family thanked the community for continued support since Patrick’s death.
“We know that our son was a decent and caring person and beloved by many,” Robert Lobor said in the statement. “What we didn’t know is how many lives he had touched in our greater community through sports.”
The funeral will take place Aug. 11 at St. Luke’s Cathedral in Portland. A GoFundMe campaign to help the family with funeral expenses had raised nearly $10,000 by Wednesday afternoon. About 200 people gathered Tuesday evening for a vigil at a neighborhood basketball court.
“Everyone has questions that can’t be answered,” a family friend told the crowd.
Megan Doyle can be contacted at 791-6327 or at:
mdoyle@pressherald.com
Twitter: megan_e_doyle
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