Authorities said a man was hit and killed by a FedEx truck during protests over George Floyd's death in St. Louis.
A preliminary investigation revealed that the driver of a FedEx double tractor-trailer was rerouted because protesters shut down certain areas near downtown St. Louis.
St. Louis Police said the driver stopped due to a large gathering of protesters. While he was stopped, several people gained access to the first trailer and started to remove items.
Two men, "while standing on the passenger side footboard of the truck cab, displayed guns to the driver. The driver, fearing for his safety, sounded the airhorn and drove off until he was stopped by police," Sgt. Keith Barrett said in a statement.
The driver didn't realize that a person was stuck on the converter dolly between the two trailers, police said. The man had been caught by the trailer tire, pulled under and was eventually run over by the tire.
Authorities are now investigating the incident but they believe the man who died appeared to be one of the protesters.
“Our hearts go out to all those who are grieving the events of this week. We are deeply saddened to learn of a tragic situation involving a demonstrator in St. Louis and one of our vehicles. We offer our sincerest condolences to the family of the individual involved. There is no higher priority for FedEx than safety, and we are cooperating fully with the investigating authorities at this time,” FedEx said in a statement obtained by NBC affiliate KSDK.
The protests began at around 11:30 p.m. Friday and lasted until around 3 a.m. Saturday. A few interstates in the St. Louis area were closed to traffic due to protesters marching over the death of George Floyd, according to KSDK.
