Sikh truck driver stabbed 17 times at US rest stop

A Sikh truck driver was stabbed 17 times at a highway rest stop in the US state of Wyoming before a family who heard the attack helped authorities track down the alleged assailant.

The 28-year-old driver, who has asked to be identified only by his surname Singh, was attacked early on Sunday after stopping at the Bitter Creek Rest Area along Interstate 80 while travelling towards Pennsylvania.

Police arrested Andrew Kris Bzdak, 45, less than 90 minutes after the first emergency call. He has been charged with attempted first-degree murder.

Charging documents obtained by Cowboy State Daily show the attack unfolded in less than a minute.

Singh entered the restroom before a man followed him inside. Singh told NPR that the man began beating him and then pulled out a knife, stabbing him repeatedly.

He suffered 17 wounds, including injuries to his neck and chest, before managing to get out of the restroom.

“I don’t know why this happened,” Singh told NPR from hospital. “I don’t know why they attack[ed] me.”

Family follows suspect

A family at the rest area heard screaming and other sounds coming from the men’s restroom and then saw a man run from the building towards a tractor-trailer.

Family members followed the truck along Interstate 80 long enough to photograph the vehicle and obtain identifying information, which was passed to authorities.

They then returned to help the badly wounded Singh, tending to him until emergency crews arrived.

“They [gave] me the second life,” Singh told NPR.

Wyoming Highway Patrol officers located the suspect’s truck about 113km from the rest area, and arrested Bzdak without incident.

Singh was taken to a trauma facility and remained in hospital as of Wednesday. He told The Sacramento Bee that he suffered wounds to his arms, neck, chest and ribs during the attack.

No motive established

Authorities have not established a motive.

“There is no known motive for the attack at this time, and there is no threat to the public,” Jeff Sheaman, a public information officer for the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office, told The Sacramento Bee.

Charging documents cited by NPR also did not specify a motive.

The attack has nevertheless caused concern among Sikh truck drivers in the US. Singh, who lives in Sacramento and has worked as a commercial truck driver for about three years, said he feared something similar could happen to others.

“I am just worried … it can happen again,” he told NPR.

Controversial DHS post

The stabbing came days after the US Department of Homeland Security faced criticism over a social media post featuring a Sikh man and the words: “Get off our roads, you don’t know how to drive Mr. Singh.”

The post, which DHS said referred to an Indian truck driver accused of causing a fatal crash in Florida, was removed following criticism from politicians and Sikh and Indian-American groups.

Some Sikh organisations have raised concerns about the wider climate surrounding the Wyoming attack, but authorities have not linked the stabbing to Singh’s ethnicity or religion.

DHS told NPR that it would not speculate about the motive and said attempts to blame the department for an unrelated attack were “reckless and false”.