A Durango man has been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder for hitting a pedestrian with his car after a verbal altercation in front of the Durango post office.
The incident began about 5 p.m. Monday when Brian Walker Kruse, 40, turned onto Eighth Street from Main Avenue to go west toward the post office. After making the turn, Kruse encountered Kenneth O’Neill, 36, walking on Eighth Street near the post office at 222 W. Eight St., according to an arrest affidavit.
Kruse, driving a 2000 Toyota Corolla, revved his engine as O’Neill slowly made his way across the road. The two men began yelling at each other, and Kruse veered briefly toward O’Neill and accelerated before pulling into the post office parking lot, according to the affidavit, which included descriptions of video surveillance that captured the incident.
Kruse parked at the post office, and both men continued their verbal exchange.
Kruse eventually went into the post office. When he exited, he said it appeared as if O’Neill had left the area. Kruse got into his vehicle and then saw O’Neill approach from the passenger side. O’Neill allegedly punched Kruse’s front passenger window, causing it to shatter. Police later confirmed the passenger-side window had been shattered.
Kruse told police that O’Neill screamed profanities and threatened to kill him. O’Neill was walking away, and Kruse pursued him in his vehicle, according to the affidavit.
He told police he planned to “tap” O’Neill. He also said O’Neill jumped onto his windshield.
But police said video surveillance shows a different set of events.
O’Neill can be seen walking north away from the post office into a crosswalk on Eighth Street. As O’Neill enters the crosswalk, Kruse pulls out of the post office parking lot at a “high rate of speed” and turns right toward O’Neill.
O’Neill jumps back on the curb as the Toyota veers toward him, narrowly missing him and the curb, according to the affidavit.
O’Neill then re-enters the crosswalk, and the Toyota does a U-turn and drives directly toward O’Neill. O’Neill began running but was hit and thrown onto the hood and windshield of the Toyota, shattering the windshield, according to the affidavit.
At the point of impact, the Toyota was traveling westbound in the eastbound lane of Eighth Street, according to police. The car then veers back into the westbound lane and continues driving toward Camino del Rio.
O’Neill can be seen standing up on the sidewalk. Meanwhile, the Toyota turned around again at the Transit Center and drove back toward O’Neill. Kruse stops near the crosswalk, but eventually drives forward and turns north onto Narrow Gauge Avenue, according to police.
Several people reported the incident to the 911 dispatch center, including a description of Kruse’s license plate number.
O’Neill made his way to the Speedway gas station at 901 Camino del Rio, where police contacted him.
O’Neill didn’t want to speak with officers at first, but he eventually gave a statement.
He was later arrested in connection with two prior warrants, according to the affidavit. He was also issued a summons for criminal mischief for breaking Kruse’s window and disorderly conduct for the initial dispute with Kruse.
Meanwhile, police went to Kruse’s home, where they found a Toyota with a broken passenger window and a smashed in front windshield.
Kruse told police he acted in self-defense, saying O’Neill threatened to kill him. But he also said when O’Neill broke his window, it made him “snap.”
Police said Kruse “made two, clear, deliberate attempts” to run over O’Neill. The investigating officer described it as a road-rage incident.
O’Neill was walking away from the post office, giving Kruse an opportunity to drive away and contact law enforcement, police said. But instead, Kruse aimed his vehicle at O’Neill and struck him before driving away, according to the affidavit.
Kruse was being held Friday at the La Plata County Jail on $25,000.
shane@durangoherald.com
