Canadian driver charged with hitting four people during vaccine mandate protest

David Alexander Zegarac, 42, is accused of ramming his Jeep Patriot through a group of demonstrators

A Canadian man has been arrested after police say he ran over four people at an anti-vaccine mandate protest and kept driving.

David Alexander Zegarac, 42, is accused of ramming his Jeep Patriot through a group of demonstrators in front of the Manitoba Legislature Building around 9.50pm on Friday. Four people were injured.

Officers of the Winnipeg Police Service told CTV News they were able to stop the Jeep and arrest Mr Zegarac “after a brief struggle”. He has been charged with assault with a weapon, dangerous operation of a conveyance, failing to stop at the scene of an accident, and several other charges.

Three of the hit-and-run victims sustained only minor injuries, and a fourth was hospitalised but later released.

The protesters had been demonstrating in solidarity with the anti-mandate truckers currently wreaking havoc in Ottawa, but police said Mr Zegarac’s motives may not have been political.

“Some comments he made after his arrest suggested that his motivation was not specifically about the underlying causes of the protest or the mandates,” Constable Rob Carver of the WPS told the Winnipeg Free Press.

Mr Zegarac has not been convicted, and is presumed innocent until proven guilty. He has not been released from custody, police said.

The protests against Canada’s vaccine mandates are now in their second week, with no end in sight. The mayor of Ottawa, where the core demonstration is taking place, has declared a state of emergency as anti-mandate truckers subject the city to constant honking and gridlock.

“Show human decency and leave our community now that you’ve made your point,” Mayor Jim Watson said on Monday.