Several hundred protestors at an event in Minneapolis were taken by surprise when an SUV drove into their midst at a protest against police violence. The protestors were speaking out about a recent event in which Winston Smith, a 32-year-old black American man, was shot by law enforcement officers earlier in June.
An eyewitness reported the SUV drove at a high rate of speed – “70 or 80 miles an hour” — and appeared to have accelerated as it got closer to the crowd. The SUV hit another vehicle that was acting as a blockade. That blockade vehicle then hit several protestors. The woman killed was reportedly tossed into the air and hit a pole.
Deona Erickson, whose 32nd birthday would have been June 16, was identified as the deceased. A 35-year-old man was booked on suspicion of criminal vehicular homicide, driving after a license was canceled and providing false information to police. He had past convictions of driving while impaired, reports say.