A woman claims she was run over by a People’s Convoy in Washington, D.C., when a BMW covered in “Truck Rules” stickers was “driving forward slowly as she stepped outside.”
Dupont Circle resident Kerry Lynn Bedard said she was “standing still” on the south side of Connecticut Avenue when she was hit by a silver BMW participating in a right-wing convoy through the city.
However, a member of the convoy, identified by the US media as Donald Brian Thomas II of Butler, Ohio, told police that he was “inching forward when [Bedard] went outside and in front of his car, screaming, and then lay down on the roadway.”
Thomas was driving his BMW 550i, which was plastered with trucker rule and MCM lies stickers as part of the Sunday parade.
The city’s Metropolitan Police confirmed they were investigating the incident and urged witnesses to contact police.
Sean Hickman of Metro PD Public Information told The Daily Beast: “An investigation is currently underway. If anyone has any information please call 202-727-9099 or text 50411.”
The video clip shows Kerry Lynn Bedard sitting in front of a silver BMW that she claims crashed into her as its driver was participating in a People’s Convoy through Washington, DC.
In a video clip filmed by a red truck driver in front of Thomas’ silver BMW, Bedard is seen sitting on the road next to his dog. She tells passers-by that she refuses to move until the police arrive.
In a video clip filmed by a red truck driver in front of Thomas’ silver BMW, Bedard is seen sitting on the road next to his dog.
The truck driver walks towards the woman and appears to be talking to the BMW driver as he says, “She stood next to me when we were around and ran right behind you to lie down.”
To which Bedard replies “I was standing here and he hit me” as she points to the immobile BMW to her left.
“I stood still,” she adds as the woman tries to comfort her. “I was standing right here and he hit me.”
She then appears to turn to the driver of the BMW and adds, “I don’t want to hear about you. I don’t want to hear from you. You can’t tell me anything, nothing.
For a few seconds, Bedard remains seated while she goes through her phone and then appears to dial someone on the phone, telling them, “I just got hit by a car on that fucking convoy in Connecticut. Avenue, I’m waiting for the police.
A man approaches and offers to help Bedard with her injuries before she tells him, “I’m not refusing treatment. I said I wouldn’t do anything until the police arrived.
“I don’t want to take off my shoes yet, okay. I won’t take off my shoes, I won’t do anything until the police arrive.
“I was standing here and he had to step back to pull my leg out. It’s not my version, it’s true.
She then appears to contact the police and tells the man on the phone, “That convoy just hit me on Connecticut Avenue. I was standing here, then this man drove up and hit me. I have a witness here and I need the police immediately.
The man is seen going to Bedard’s aid and offering her first aid, but she says she won’t move until the police arrive.
The woman who claimed to have witnessed the incident comforts Bedard as she sits in the road in front of the BMW.
An eyewitness to the incident told The Daily Beast that Bedard walked between the cars and yelled at the drivers.
He said she claimed the BMW stopped before the driver “hit the gas” and crashed into her.
He related that Bedard found it difficult to get up, and when he came over to help, he stated that Thomas was yelling, “Get up to hell.”
He said that a crowd had gathered around before Thomas returned to his car and blew the horn while Bedard was left lying on the ground.
Bedard told The Daily Beast she was “attacked with a deadly weapon” and claimed to have broken two bones in her leg.
She said that two witnesses saw the convoy stop before it entered the road and that she intended to talk to the drivers about not violating the “peaceful area”.
The Convoy of the People — a traveling protest against vaccination mandates modeled after Canada’s Freedom Convoy — has been skirting the Washington, D.C. beltway in recent weeks as their demands go beyond the repeal of COVID rules.
The group is updating its list of grievances as COVID restrictions fade across the country and continue to target the Biden administration.
Protesters continue to call for the lifting of several remaining restrictions: the national emergency order, which was extended in February, the current mandate to carry on planes and trains, and vaccination requirements for military personnel.
A people’s convoy turns the Beltway, a 64-mile highway that circles Washington, D.C., into a parking lot earlier this month, with cars pulling up behind them in all lanes.
Earlier this month, Senators Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Ted Cruz of Texas met with truckers who disrupted traffic in the Washington, D.C. area to protest COVID mandates.
The convoy called the vaccine and masks “excessive government interference”.
Others have previously voiced their support for the cavalcade of semi-trucks, recreational vehicles and cars, with Senator Rand Paul announcing in February that he was “all for” the convoy, which was inspired by truckers in Canada protesting their country’s vaccine mandates.
“Civil disobedience is a time-honored tradition in our country, from slavery to civil rights,” he said at the time. “Peaceful protest, litter things, make people think about mandates.”