State authorities said Monday that the driver of tanker truck did not intend to hit anyone when he drove onto the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis, sending protesters running for their lives.
Government officials say the trucker, 35-year-old Bogdan Vechirko, may not have realized that I-35W and other interstates had been closed as part of the ongoing unrest sparked by the death of George Floyd last week after an encounter with Minneapolis police.
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The barriers were meant to be up in time to enforce an 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew, but MnDOT was directed about 4:30 p.m. to have its barricades and maintenance trucks in place earlier as protesters marched from outside U.S. Bank Stadium to the bridge, Harrington said.
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One motorist, Meaghan Pezon, told the Star Tribune that said she encountered no barricades blocking traffic onto the bridge in the minutes before the truck barreled through the crowd. Pezon was heading home from a day on Lake Minnetonka, driving north toward Roseville on I-35, where she saw about 10 cars heading the wrong way toward her.
“I was confused and knew I should probably turn around, but there was no good place for me to do it,” she said. “I got to the Washington bridge, and my car was surrounded by protesters. When a protester first approached me, there were no police, no barricades, no indication that 35 was closed.”
The driver has a virtually spotless record, having one seat belt violation, a dismissed speeding violation and 2 for failure to provide insurance.
The company he drives for says they are cooperating in the investigation. The driver remains in jail without bail as the investigation continues to determine if any charges should be filed.
www.startribune.com/...
Monday, Jun 1, 2020 · 7:29:40 PM +00:00 · MTmofo
Early reports indicated that he was honking his horn, but the witnesses had a different opinion of it in the immediate aftermath.
“He wasn’t stopping. He was beeping loudly and driving into a crowd of people,” said Valle, visibly shaken. “That’s the same kind of malice that brought us her. It’s a callous disregard for someone’s humanity.”
Melanie Ramos of Minneapolis said: “A truck came. The horns were blaring. It was picking up speed. It was plowing down the highway into the protesters. It was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen.”
www.startribune.com/…
From Magnifico’s diary yesterday.