Driver plows through Minnesota protesters of Ferguson decision

The driver who lurched into a south Minneapolis intersection packed with protesters Tuesday was “attempting to flee from the mob” when he ran into and slightly injured a 16-year-old girl as others perched on the hood of his car, police said Wednesday.

The driver, Jeffrey Patrick Rice, 40, was questioned moments after he drove through the crowd late Tuesday afternoon on eastbound Lake Street at Minnehaha Avenue S. Police said Wednesday that the case “remains under investigation.” Rice, of St. Paul, was not arrested, and no charges have been filed.

His mother said in an interview that Rice was coming home from work and “didn’t even know what was going on” when he encountered the group of several hundred people. The protestors were blocking the intersection as part of a day of demonstrations over Monday’s grand jury decision on the Ferguson, Mo., police shooting.

The girl who was run over by the horn-blaring Subaru station wagon was taken by emergency responders to Regions Hospital for minor injuries. Police withheld her identity because she is a juvenile.

“The victim’s vehicle was damaged by a large group of people,” said the report released early Wednesday by police. “While [the driver] was attempting to flee from the mob, he struck a pedestrian. State accident report filed.”

The Wednesday morning police report listed Rice as a “victim” and the injured girl under a category marked “other.” Later in the day, police changed the listing of Rice to “suspect.” They did not provide additional information or immediately respond to a request for comment.

Rice’s driving history in Minnesota includes three drunken driving convictions, with the most recent coming in 2003, according to court records. He’s also been convicted of driving with an open liquor bottle, and driving after his license was canceled and in violation of restrictions placed on his license. The most recent of these convictions came in early 2008.