Sikh Truck Driver Stabbed 17 Times At Wyoming Rest Area, Suspect Held
Sacramento-based truck driver attacked at Bitter Creek rest area; suspect charged with attempted first-degree murder
A 28-year-old Sikh truck driver from Sacramento was stabbed 17 times at a rest area along Interstate 80 in Wyoming earlier this week, with authorities arresting a suspect and charging him with attempted first-degree murder, according to media reports.
The attack took place in the early hours of September 13 at the Bitter Creek Rest Area, where the truck driver, identified only by his surname Singh, had stopped while travelling towards Pennsylvania.
Singh told NPR that he was using a restroom when another man followed him inside and suddenly attacked him. The assailant allegedly punched him before pulling out a knife and stabbing him repeatedly.
The truck driver sustained multiple wounds to his neck, chest, arms and ribs. He managed to escape the restroom but collapsed outside and called for help. “I thought that now my final time had come,” Singh was quoted as saying.
A Hispanic family at the rest area responded after hearing his calls for help. The family attended to his wounds and provided information about the suspect's vehicle to authorities.
The Wyoming Highway Patrol subsequently stopped the vehicle near Rawlins, around 113 km from the rest area, and arrested the suspect, identified as Andrew Kris Bzdak.
Bzdak has been charged with attempted first-degree murder. Authorities have not disclosed a motive for the attack and have not indicated that the incident was linked to Singh's ethnicity or religion.
Singh, who has been working as a commercial truck driver for around three years, remained hospitalised while recovering from his injuries. He said the incident had raised concerns about the safety of Punjabi Sikh truck drivers travelling across the US.
The attack has drawn attention among Sikh and Punjabi trucking communities, particularly because it came days after the US Department of Homeland Security faced criticism over an AI-generated social media graphic featuring a Sikh man referred to as “Mr Singh”.
The graphic, posted on September 10, depicted a Transformer-style character facing a Sikh man wearing a head covering and carried messages telling “Mr Singh” to “get off our roads” and urging people to “self-deport”.
The timing of the two incidents has prompted concern among Sikh and South Asian communities. However, authorities have not established any connection between the Wyoming stabbing and the DHS post.
Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi condemned the stabbing and expressed concern over what he described as rising hatred targeting Sikh and South Asian Americans.
The investigation into the stabbing remains underway.