Sikh truck driver survives stabbing at Wyoming rest stop

A Sacramento truck driver was beaten and stabbed 17 times during an early-morning attack at a Wyoming rest stop Sunday, an assault authorities say remains under investigation as Sikh and South Asian leaders raise concerns about whether bias played a role.

The driver, a Sikh man who has publicly identified himself only by his last name, Singh, survived the attack near the Bitter Creek rest area on Interstate 80. The Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office said the assault happened just before 3:30 a.m. after Singh stopped for a bathroom break.

Singh told Jasjit Singh, his attorney and director of legal services for the Jakara Movement, that another truck driver punched him in the back of the head inside the rest area bathroom. The attorney said the attacker did not speak as Singh repeatedly asked why he was being assaulted. The man then began stabbing him, and Singh was eventually able to push him away and run outside.

“I don’t know why this happened,” Singh told NPR, according to The Guardian. He also told the Sacramento Bee, “I thought that now my final time had come.”

A family at the rest area saw Singh after the attack and helped him, CBS News reported. A father and son followed the suspect as he tried to leave in his tractor-trailer until Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers arrived. The family then returned to the rest area, where Singh had called 911, and helped him with towels as he was bleeding, according to the Sacramento Bee. Singh was transported by helicopter to a trauma facility, the sheriff’s office said.

Wyoming Highway Patrol troopers later located the suspect farther east on I-80 in Rawlins and took him into custody without incident. The Guardian, citing the Sacramento Bee, identified the suspect as Andrew Kris Bzdak and reported that he had been charged with attempted first-degree murder. As of Friday, he was being held at the Sweetwater County Detention Center on $1 million bail, according to an inmate roster cited by The Guardian.

Authorities have not announced a motive. Jeff Sheaman, a public information officer for the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office, said the motive remains unknown, The Guardian reported. Officials also said there is no known threat to the public.

Jasjit Singh told CBS News Sacramento that the driver was not wearing a turban at the time but was wearing a kara, a metal bracelet traditionally worn by Sikhs. He said the victim believes his appearance may have been a factor.

“He feels like that may be part of the targeting,” Jasjit Singh said. “How did this individual choose him? In the middle of the night?”

Several Democratic officials and South Asian civic leaders have connected the attack to broader concerns over rhetoric about Sikh and South Asian truck drivers, though investigators have not determined that the assault was motivated by religion, ethnicity or appearance.

The attack came days after the Department of Homeland Security deleted a social media post showing the character Optimus Prime facing a man and displaying the phrases “America for Americans,” “Self-deport or find out” and “Get off our roads, you don’t know how to drive, Mr. Singh.” DHS officials told The Guardian the post referred to an Indian-descent truck driver accused of making an illegal turn before a deadly crash involving an 18-wheeler and a minivan.

DHS told NPR, in response to a request for comment about the Wyoming attack, “Any attempt to blame DHS for an unrelated attack is RECKLESS and FALSE.”

California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office and Democratic lawmakers criticized the deleted post. “Our thoughts are with this individual and his family during this time,” Newsom spokesperson Diana Crofts-Pelayo told CBS News Sacramento, adding that “hateful rhetoric is hurting our communities.”

Illinois Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi said he was “horrified” by the stabbing and called for accountability. “Those spreading this hate, including officials in our own federal government, need to stop,” he said. “Those who turn it into violence must be held accountable.”