BREAKING: Semi Truck Plows Thru Protesters; Investigation Says He Did NOT Target Protesters

The truck driver has been released without charges.

But while the truck driver was arrested (without hurting anyone), thousands of rioters and looters have been able to freely roam the streets.

Many cities are not arresting or punishing those who are willingly breaking the law.

CBS Minnesota confirms that the truck driver has not been charged by the police:

A 35-year-old Otsego man has been released from custody without charges after driving his semi-truck into a crowd of protesters on the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis over the weekend.

Bogdan Vechirko was released shortly after noon on Tuesday. Under the reason for release, authorities said “36 hours expired.”

The Hennepin County Attorney’s Office says the case has been deferred pending further investigation.

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

In the video, the semi-truck is seen driving to the left of traffic being diverted due to the protests.

“At 5:44 pm on Sunday, May 31, the driver entered 94 eastbound from the Hennepin/Lyndale on-ramp. MnDOT was in the process of closing the system and this on-ramp had not been blocked off yet,” MnDOT said.

Department of Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington later said all preliminary investigation indicates that what at first appeared to be a potentially deliberate event may have instead been merely accidental, and “possibly a miracle” that no one was seriously injured.

Based on MnDOT's statement, it appears that the driver likely didn't know the protest was going on. 

If the ramp wasn't blocked and he didn't realize that protesters had overtaken the freeway, then he clearly didn't intend to run into anyone!

Though the protesters were beating the truck driver, he did not sustain any serious injuries.

The police were able to get to him in time.

Local KARE 11 news confirms that investigators believe that the semi driver did NOT intend to hurt anyone, despite social media posts claiming that the driver was taunting protesters:

Officials said Monday that a 35-year-old Minnesota semi-truck driver did not go around barricades on I-35 and there’s no evidence that he was deliberately targeting protesters when his tanker truck sped onto a crowded bridge Sunday.

“From the traffic cams we know the driver of the tanker truck was on the freeway already,” Minnesota Public Safety Commissioner John Harrington told reporters.

Harrington said the truck entered the interstate before workers had blocked off access to the highway.

“He was on I-94 already and he turned onto 35 before we got barricades or trucks there to block of his access to 35,” Harrington said.

Bogdan Vechirko of Ostego, Minnesota was taken into custody after a horrifying scene late Sunday afternoon when videos showed his semi – its horn blaring – speeding toward hundreds of peaceful protesters packing the I-35 bridge across the Mississippi river.

Protesters scattered, fearing for their lives. On social media, people accused Vechirko of deliberately trying to kill protesters.

After reviewing traffic camera footage – and questioning Vechirko – authorities now say they think the driver came up on the protest by accident.

“We don’t have any information that makes this seem like this was an intentional act,” Harrington said. “It wasn’t that he went around the barricades to get to the protest.”

The city will review the case fully at a later date.

We hope that the truck driver remains innocent, as all available evidence appears to suggest that this truly was an accident.

Either the ramps to the freeway should have been blocked before the protests started -- or the protesters should have stayed off the freeway if traffic was still oncoming.

Regardless, we should all be happy that no one was injured!