Mayor releases statement regarding downtown Reno protest crash

Reno Police continue to investigate a case in which five people were treated for minor injuries after being hit by a pickup driver during a confrontation in downtown Reno. It happened the evening of October 10, 2016, during a Columbus Day protest put on by the American Indian Movement of Northern Nevada (AIMNN).

Police say a group of about 40 protesters, with no protest permit, was standing in the crosswalk blocking traffic at the Reno arch. Some of the protesters were from the American Indian Movement of Northern Nevada. The driver of a pickup drove southbound on Virginia Street and stopped in front of the protest, at which point, police say, several of the protesters approached the truck. There was a confrontation between the occupants of the truck and the protesters that went on for about a minute. At some point during the confrontation with the protesters, the driver of the truck drove forward through the crowd before leaving the scene.

There are witness accounts, still being investigated, that the truck was seen multiple times in the area before the incident.

According to REMSA, one person was taken to a hospital with minor trauma injuries. Four other patients refused transportation to a hospital; two of those were the truck driver and passenger; two were protesters.

Reno Police say the driver of the pickup stopped several blocks away and called police to provide his account of the events. He and his passenger were interviewed and are cooperating with the ongoing investigation. No one has been charged and no names have been released.

According to Lorayn Walser, Secretary of AIMNN, the organization was having a peaceful protest downtown. It wants Columbus Day to be changed to Indigenous People's Day in Nevada.