Semi Drives Toward Minneapolis Protesters Marching on Freeway

Semi Drives Toward Minneapolis Protesters Marching on Freeway
People react after a tanker truck drove into a crowd protesting the death of George Floyd on the I-35W bridge over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis, Minn., on May 31, 2020. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

The article has been updated with the latest information.

MINNEAPOLIS—A semi-truck driver was taken to a hospital for injuries after being pulled from the cab and assaulted by protestors when he drove onto a Minneapolis freeway Sunday that had thousands of people marching on it. Authorities said it appeared no one else was hurt.

Some witnesses said a handful of people in the incident on Interstate 35W near downtown Minneapolis sought medical attention on their own, but authorities said they could not confirm that.

The driver, 35-year-old Bogdan Vechirko, was quickly released from the hospital and was in police custody.

Department of Public Safety spokesman Bruce Gordon said the incident was being investigated as a criminal matter.

Bystander video showed the crowd parting seconds before the semi rolled through, then the truck gradually slowed and demonstrators swarmed the truck. Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington said it appeared from traffic camera footage that the semitrailer was already on the freeway before barricades were set up at 5 p.m.

The freeway was among many shut down in the Minneapolis area for the second night in a row as officials imposed an 8 p.m. curfew. Minneapolis has been the center of protests—some peaceful, some violent—for days over the death of Floyd, a handcuffed black man who died last week after a Minneapolis officer pressed his knee into his neck.

The officer, Derek Chauvin, was fired and charged with third-degree murder and manslaughter. Three other officers who were arresting Floyd have also since been fired.

NTD staff contributed to this report

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