Driver crashes vehicle into Minneapolis protestors, killing 1 and injuring 3, gets pulled from car and beat by bystanders

Last Sunday, a vehicle drove into a protest in Minneapolis that resulted in the death of a woman and three other people were injured.

The crash occurred around 11:40 p.m. in Minneapolis’ Uptown neighborhood and although witnesses claim that the driver of an SUV struck a car that was parked causing it to go towards the demonstrators, Police spokesman John Elder stated that authorities are currently investigating the incident and cannot confirm witnesses claims at the moment. D.J Hooker, a witness, went on Minnesota Public Radio to share what he saw, “There was one line of barriers and then a second barrier, and he sped up. He sped up. He went even faster as he approached us. You could hear it … start going even faster as he got close to us.” Hooker even observed the moment when the car hit a young woman.

Police disclosed that the driver was taken into custody and is currently being treated for injuries at a hospital due to demonstrators beating him after the crash. The driver’s motive has not been confirmed but police point to drugs or alcohol as a contributing factor. The mother of the women who was killed during the crash took the time to ask for prayers for the driver’s family stating, “The emotion we need to have right now is we need to be grateful that Deona was here and she shared it all with us… She wouldn’t want us to be angry at that man. She would have let it go in a minute, and said, what could we have done for him? What would have made a difference for him?”

The demonstrators were protesting the death of a black man who was fatally shot this month by a federal task force during an attempted arrest according to the Associated Press. According to authorities, on June 3rd members of the U.S Marshals Fugitive Task Force were attempting to arrest Winston Boogie Smith Jr., a father of three, for illegally possessing a firearm while being a felon.

U.S Marshals Fugitive Task Force made a statement claiming that Smith was in a parked vehicle and was not complying with law enforcement. Authorities say that Smith “produced a handgun resulting in task force members firing upon the subject,” although the passenger in Smith’s vehicle claims she never witnessed a gun on Smith or in the vehicle. The Associated Press reported that state investigators obtained evidence proving Smith fired his firearm from inside his vehicle.

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ARTICLE: LAURA RAMIREZ
MANAGING EDITOR: CARSON CHOATE
PHOTO CREDITS: DULUTH NEWS TRIBUNE