A truck driver allegedly slipped into an Interstate 80 rest-area bathroom behind another man early Sunday and attacked him with a knife, stabbing him twice in the neck, twice in the chest and leaving him with 17 wounds before bolting back to his semi-truck and heading east toward Rawlins.
Less than 90 minutes after the first 911 call, Wyoming Highway Patrol had 45-year-old Andrew Kris Bzdak in custody.
On Monday, prosecutors charged Bzdak with attempted first-degree murder.
The man he is accused of attacking staggered out of the Bitter Creek Rest Area bathroom badly wounded and bleeding, losing his balance and apparently collapsing at least once before he was eventually airlifted to Wyoming Medical Center in Casper.
Charging documents obtained Tuesday by Cowboy State Daily provide the first detailed account of an attack that apparently unfolded in less than a minute, leaving blood from inside the men's restroom to the parking area near a semi-truck.
They also reveal that a family at the rest area heard the attack, saw a man run from the building and then followed his semi-truck east toward Rawlins long enough to photograph identifying information from the truck and trailer.
Screaming From Men's Room
Sweetwater County sheriff's deputies were dispatched at about 3:27 a.m. Sept. 13 to the eastbound Bitter Creek Rest Area at Interstate 80 milepost 144, about 41 miles east of Rock Springs.
The man who was attacked told dispatch he was stabbed multiple times while inside the rest-area bathroom. He was badly injured and believed he had been attacked with a knife, court documents say.
Two minutes later, another call came into the Sweetwater County Combined Communications Center.
The caller reported seeing what they believed was a stabbing and described the suspect as a young white man who ran from the scene to a truck.
The caller also gave dispatch some of the first details law enforcement had to work with: The trailer had “JKC” on the back, and the caller provided the license plate information. The semi-truck was believed to be red, while the trailer could have been white or blue — and it was already heading east on I-80.
A family had stopped at Bitter Creek, with one woman inside the women's restroom and another family member waiting outside.
From the women's side of the building, she could hear grunting and screaming coming from the men's restroom.
Then a man came running out. The family watched him hurry to his truck and take off.
Rather than simply watch the taillights disappear, they followed.
The family stayed behind the semi-truck until they could photograph identifying information, then provided it to investigators.
Less Than A Minute
A camera on a semi parked near the restroom building recorded the area before and after the stabbing, investigators say.
The man who was attacked can be seen walking past the parked truck and toward the restroom building casually before going inside.
A short time later, a man wearing a black sweater and blue jeans approached the building quickly along the south walkway and entered.
Investigators identified that man as Bzdak after comparing him with a photograph provided by a WHP trooper.
What happened inside the restroom isn't captured by the camera.
Less than a minute after Bzdak was seen entering the building, a woman walked out.
Then Bzdak allegedly bolted out, passing the semi camera in tennis shoes as he fled.
Investigators couldn't tell from the footage whether there was blood on his hands or clothing.
The wounded man emerged afterward. He was still on his feet, but not for long.
Investigators say he began losing his balance and either fell or lost consciousness at least once.
Nobody else was seen leaving the restroom after he came out.
A Trail Of Blood
Investigators reviewing crime-scene photographs found large amounts of blood inside the restroom, in the lobby, outside the building and beside a parked semi.
A witness to the aftermath also shared a video showing a large pool of what appears to be blood on the pavement outside.
The camera panned roughly 20 to 25 feet to a man lying on his back beside a truck trailer. His eyes were closed and his left arm appeared wrapped in a white towel or bandage.
Several people stood nearby as emergency lights flashed through the darkness behind them.
The man was eventually airlifted to Wyoming Medical Center in Casper.
Investigators documented 17 lacerations, including two stab wounds to his neck and two to his chest.
Did They Get Him?
Casper police later helped Sweetwater County investigators get the wounded man's account from his hospital bed.
One of his first concerns was whether his attacker was already in custody.
He then described an attack that apparently came without warning.
He said he was trying to use the restroom when a man attacked him from behind.
At first, he didn't see anything in the man's hand. He turned around and pushed his attacker away.
That's when he saw the knife, which he recalled being blue.
The documents describe no conversation between the men before the attack and offer no motive, which investigators said remains unknown.
WHP Closed In
While the man was bleeding at Bitter Creek, the search was already moving east along Interstate 80.
Wyoming Highway Patrol spokesman Aaron Brown told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday that WHP responded to the initial assault report at about 3:30 a.m.
At roughly 5 a.m., a trooper spotted the suspect's semi west of Rawlins.
Troopers stopped the truck at Exit 209 near the Flying J.
Brown confirmed the man behind the wheel was a truck driver and said he complied with troopers.
There was no chase or confrontation during the arrest.
Attempted First-Degree Murder
After WHP located the truck, Bzdak was detained and taken to the Carbon County Sheriff's Office.
His semi was towed and secured in the sheriff's office impound lot.
Brown said Bzdak was transported to the Sweetwater County Detention Center.
Prosecutors charged Bzdak on Monday with attempted first-degree murder.
County and Prosecuting Attorney Daniel Erramouspe alleges Bzdak intended to kill the man and acted with premeditated malice when he attacked him.
The charge alleges Bzdak took a substantial step toward killing him.
Attempted first-degree murder is a felony carrying the possibility of life imprisonment under Wyoming law.
Kolby Fedore can be reached at kolby@cowboystatedaily.com.
