Trucker who drove into protesters on 35W Bridge released without charges

[brooklynite]

Source: Minneapolis Star-Tribune

The truck driver who drove onto the 35W Bridge and narrowly missed hitting protesters over the weekend was released from jail Tuesday afternoon as prosecutors continue investigating whether he should be charged with a crime.

Bogdan Vechirko, 35, of Otsego, Minn., was jailed Sunday evening on suspicion of assault and held in the Hennepin County jail until midday Tuesday in connection with his empty fuel tanker careening through a crowd marching to protest the May 25 death of George Floyd after being restrained by Minneapolis police.

The County Attorney’s Office had until noon Tuesday to hold Vechirko without charges before they had to release him, pending further investigation, Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said in a statement Tuesday.

“Investigators are in the process of gathering additional information and answers to aid in the charging decision,” the statement says.

Read more: https://www.startribune.com/trucker-who-rolled-into-35w-protest-released-without-charges/570957332/

[geardaddy]

1. Freeman needs to go. n/t

[PerceptionManagement]

2. If you hate the same people the cops hate you get off?

[totodeinhere]

3. I do not make too much of this. They had to release him based on a legal technicality.

These things happen. But they are continuing to investigate and he may well be rearrested.

[Miguelito Loveless]

16. Funny how seldom these technicalities

crop up when Black and Latinos are arrested.

[ripcord]

4. He will cite Reginald Denny in his defense

Every truck driver knows that story, I have heard more than a few drivers say if things look scary they aren't stopping and putting themselves in that situation.

[louis-t]

5. Photo I saw looked like he had a broken nose.

Someone dragged him out of the truck and clocked him one, but someone else stepped in and protected the guy until police arrived.

[Judi Lynn]

6. Found a photo, couldn't grasp what was wrong with his beezer:

The trucker who drove through a crowd of protesters in Minneapolis was once arrested for domestic assault
Ashley Collman Jun 1, 2020, 10:10 AM

Bogdan Vechirko is accused of driving this truck through a George Floyd march in Minneapolis on Sunday. Eric Miller/Reuters


Bogdan Vechirko, 35, was arrested on suspicion of assault after driving a semi-truck through a George Floyd march in Minneapolis on Sunday.

Public records show that Vechirko has was convicted for disorderly conduct in late 2012.

He was also charged with domestic violence over the same incident, but that charge was ultimately dropped.

Donation records also show three contributions of around $100 since 2018: one to President Donald Trump's re-election campaign, and two more to the Republican Party.

More:
https://www.insider.com/bogdan-vechirko-minneapolis-trucker-has-criminal-past-gave-to-trump-2020-6

[louis-t]

7. The video showed someone opening the passenger

side door and entering.

[rockfordfile]

8. The guy looks like one of those right-wingers Neo-Nazi

[hardluck]

17. Weird that a right-wing neo-nazi type would have been doing a black owned business a favor.

Link to tweet

[sarisataka]

9. There have been reports

Many community leaders and protest organizers accept the explanation that it was a mistake, not malice.

That said, he still may face charges.

[2naSalit]

11. From what I heard...

which is no proof but it was said that he was on the freeway and came up the ramp from the freeway unaware that ot was full of people. If that's the case, even if he was empty, it still takes some distance to stop one of those things, I used to drive them. It looks like there was a curve along the portion of the highway before the actual ramp such that seeing the people there would have happened as he was entering the ramp at, likely, 59 something mph. The cities have several exits of that kind so I wonder if he was surprised by a bunch of people in the road all of a sudden. It's not like he could have stopped on a dime.

Protesters need to think about safety when they decide to shut down any part of a high speed roadway. The crowd response was unacceptable in trying to kill the guy. He may have had intent but that would be hard to prove.

[sarisataka]

13. I know that area well

The bridge they were on the the replacement for the 35W bridge that collapsed. The approach has a curve and bit of a slope so you cannot see the bridge from a great distance.

[2naSalit]

14. That's where I thought it was.

It's likely he had no idea he would find a wall of humans on the ramp.

[Sapient Donkey]

19. Is this it?

https://www.google.com/maps/@44.9740405,-93.2485704,3a,60.2y,34.3h,85.67t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sNJa8f7Vnss4MO9SqyhpREw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[sarisataka]

20. Yes, but he entered the freeway

Even farther back so from his lower vantage his view of the bridge was less clear.

[tirebiter]

21. If he intended to hurt A lot of people he very easily could have.

His driving pattern shows he was trying to minimize hitting/hurting anybody. Protesters were protecting him at the end.

[2naSalit]

23. Indeed.

The one bit of video I saw looked like he was coming in off the highway and was surprised and he did try to avoid hitting them, he could have scraped one of the walls and taken out half of them. If he wasn't listening to some kind of instant news, he probably wouldn't have known, especially if he'd been out of town and was just coming in from a days long run.

Makes sense.

[rockfordfile]

10. Vechirko?

[2naSalit]

12. You'd be amazed at how many

immigrants from the Eastern Bloc ended up here as truck drivers in the 90's and beyond. Immigrants make up a large number of semi drivers.

[EllieBC]

18. Many willing to do tandem driving too.

2 drivers in the rig means little to no downtime. Which is killing wages. I wish no one would do it or that it wasn’t allowed. Up here we have a lot of immigrant drivers from India willing to do the same.

[NickB79]

15. Minnesota and Iowa have a surprisingly large Bosnian population

[soldierant]

22. Is there no such thing as protective custody in Minnesota?

Or are they too dim to realize when someone has done something in plain sight which angers and outrages thousands of people?

Or ... are they smart enough to realize that progressives (who have empathy) are NOT violent and that all the violence is coming from the right? (I can see why no one would publicly admit that, of course.)