Truck Driver Faces Felony Charge For Driving Through George Floyd Protestors On I-35w Bridge

From the Minnesota Reformer:

By Max Nesterak

October 22, 2020

The man who drove his semi-truck through a crowd of protesters on the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis in May faces two criminal charges — a felony for threats of violence and a gross misdemeanor for criminal vehicular operation. No one except the driver was seriously hurt in the incident.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced the charges against Bogdan Vechirko of Ostego on Thursday, saying investigators believe Vechirko wanted to scare the people protesting the police killing of George Floyd and should have known not to get on the bridge, despite the onramp being open.

Video of the May 31 incident shows Vechirko approaching hundreds of people on the bridge before slowly coming to a stop as protesters threw bikes at the truck and climbed on top of the rig. Vechirko then began driving again until protesters managed to kick through his windshield and drag him out of the cab.

Vechirko, through his lawyer Mark Solheim, says the incident was a grave misunderstanding, and that he acted quickly to prevent anyone from being hurt.

There were no signs or barricades directing Vechirko away from getting on the bridge, where more than a thousand people were marching.

As he approached the crowd, Vechirko “relied on his professional instinct and training to avoid a hard brake that could have jackknifed the truck and could have seriously injured or killed thousands of people, and instead slowed his vehicle while maneuvering through the parted crowd,” Solheim said in a statement.

Video posted to social media also appears to show a protester pointing a gun at Vechirko and then firing two rounds into his front driver side tire.

“The social media videos make clear that Mr. Vechirko was faced with a terrifying situation, yet still made efforts to safely remove himself and his tanker from the situation without catastrophic injuries or death,” Solheim said. “It is difficult to comprehend how Mr. Vechirko’s conduct has now resulted in him being charged with a felony.”

In a Reformer article in the days following the incident, the Black owner of the gas station to which Vechirko had just made a delivery came to the truck driver’s defense. Lonnie McQuirter, who owns 36Lyn Refuel Station, said Vechirko was always professional.

Seeing people call Vechirko a terrorist, McQuirter tweeted: “The driver just left my store doing me, a black business owner a favor. You should be ashamed of yourselves.”

But prosecutor Mike Freeman says his investigation shows Vechirko did not stop until someone in the crowd stumbled and fell forward. He also said investigators reenacted Vechirko’s drive in a similar truck and concluded he would have seen the crowd and had sufficient time to stop the truck.

Vechirko is scheduled to appear in court on Nov. 10.

The Minnesota Reformer is an independent, nonprofit news organization dedicated to keeping Minnesotans informed and unearthing stories other outlets can’t or won’t tell..