Inset: Andrew Bzdak (Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office). Background: The Bitter Creek Rest Stop in Rock Springs, Wyo. (Google Maps).
A California man could face life in prison after prosecutors said he stabbed a truck driver several times at a rest stop in Wyoming.
Andrew Bzdak, 44, is charged with attempted first-degree murder in connection with an attack on 28-year-old Gurvinder Singh.
According to reporting on the case by Wyoming-based news outlet Cowboy State Daily, Singh is a truck driver from Sacramento, California, who stopped at the Bitter Creek Rest Stop in Rock Springs, Wyoming, around 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 13. During a court hearing on Wednesday, a Sweetwater County sheriff's deputy testified that surveillance videos captured Singh entering the restrooms, followed by a man investigators later identified as Bzdak.
Moments after the two men were seen entering the building, Bzdak was seen running out. Singh was seen staggering out of the restroom before collapsing to the ground.
According to an affidavit obtained by Cowboy State Daily, investigators said several witnesses reported Singh's injuries and said they heard a struggle in the men's restroom. A family told police they saw Bzdak run to his semitruck and allegedly flee the scene. The same family reportedly followed the truck and provided authorities with identifying details and photos of the truck.
When police spoke to Singh, he said he was attacked from behind. He was able to push the man away and see that he was allegedly holding a blue knife. Singh told police that the man who allegedly stabbed him did not say anything to him before the attack.
According to the affidavit, investigators said Singh suffered 17 knife wounds, including two to his chest and two to his neck. He survived and later recovered at home.
The Wyoming State Patrol spotted Bzdak's semitruck at a Flying J truck stop around 5 a.m. the same morning. Bzdak was located and arrested without incident. During Wednesday's hearing, the sheriff's deputy said police found a Walmart shopping bag containing clothing and wet wipes that appeared to be bloody.
Sweetwater County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Jeff Sheaman told media outlets including Cowboy State Daily that police did not have a clear motive for the attack on Singh, who is Sikh. Sweetwater County Attorney Daniel Erramouspe told the outlet in September that "there's no indication that it's a hate crime."
Bzdak is currently in custody at the Sweetwater County Detention Center, where he is being held on a $1 million surety bond. His next court date was not made public.
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