One Woman Dead & 3 Injured After Car Crashes Into Minneapolis Protestors

A woman was killed and three other people were injured in Minneapolis on Sunday night after a car drove into protestors for Winston Boogie Smith Jr., a black man who was shot dead by U.S. Marshals earlier this month.

According to Minneapolis Police in a statement, the driver who protestors pulled out of the vehicle after driving into a crowd, was taken into police custody. The driver received treatment at an area hospital.

Police say that their preliminary investigation suggested the use of drugs and alcohol by the driver may have caused the incident.

A man at the scene said in a livestream video that was posted to Facebook, that people were playing Red Light Green Light in the street after a volleyball game, when the car sped up, went through trash cans hitting another car and a woman. Police confirmed the death of one woman and the release of two people from the hospital in a tweet.

 

The suspect, Nicholas David Kraus, as 35-year-old man from St. Paul, is being held without bail for vehicular manslaughter, according to Hennepin County Jail records.

Police have not yet identified the victims, but Garrett Knajdeck told the Star Tribune that his sister Deona M. Knajdeck was the woman who was killed. Kanjdeck said his sister was a mother to two daughters who was passionate about social justice. Deona would have been celebrating her 32nd birthday last week.

“She constantly (was) sacrificing herself for everyone around her,” Knajdeck said, “no matter the cost.”

The city has been known to gather for protests for over a year now for victims of police brutality such as George Floyd in May 2020, Daunte Wright in April 2021, and the most recent victim Winston Boogie Smith Jr. Smith died of multiple gunshot wounds on June 3 in a parking garage, and protesters have since been holding demonstrations after his death.