Two demonstrators were injured after a motorcyclist appeared to deliberately drive at a group taking part in a labor protest Wednesday morning outside an Amazon facility in Riverside County, according to officials.
The two demonstrators appeared to suffer only minor injuries and neither were Amazon employees, according to Teamsters Local 1932 spokesperson Robert Gonzalez, who was at the walkout. He said the two who were injured were local union members there to support the Amazon workers.
The protest was part of an organized walkout at the Amazon warehouse calling for better working conditions and pay, alleging the company had illegally retaliated against workers trying to improve the workplace, according to the union. It’s not immediately clear how many people were in the crowd when the crash occurred, but Gonzalez said there were several hundred at the protest earlier in the morning.
Amazon denied retaliation allegations made by employees and, in a statement to the Press-Enterprise, said the company already provides “much of what the Teamsters are requesting.”
Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies responded to Krameria Avenue outside the Amazon warehouse around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday after a report that “a motorcyclist drove into the crowd,” according to a news release from the agency.
The motorcyclist, who was later identified as Jesus Salcido Perez, 40, of Perris, was also injured and taken to the hospital, deputies said. After his discharge, he was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon.
Deputies determined that Perez had “intentionally accelerated into the crowd of individuals, striking two of them,” the news release said.
“Safety is always our utmost priority,” Gonzalez said, noting that Teamsters took care to follow the law and not block public roadways. “This was just an unfortunate situation.”
