PITTSBURGH – A dump truck driver deliberately smashed his truck through a security gate of the FBI's offices on Tuesday, injuring himself but no one else, but there appeared to be no connection to terrorism, an agency spokesman said.
The driver, who's from Ohio, was being treated at a Pittsburgh hospital on Tuesday afternoon, FBI special agent Gregory Heeb said. The driver's name is known but wasn't released by the FBI. Federal authorities expected to release more information about him and the crash later Tuesday.
The truck was moving erratically and had disregarded stop signs and lights before a city police officer pulled it over about 11 a.m. near the FBI building, on the city's South Side, Heeb said. The driver told the officer he intended to ram the FBI gate but didn't explain why and then sped away a short distance and did just that, Heeb said.
The truck was disabled by security barriers meant to prevent vehicles from driving into the fenced-in office complex. The barriers include a large steel panel that rises out of the ground at the gate, which caused the truck to go slightly airborne before slamming into a light pole in the parking lot, Heeb said.
The driver, who appeared to have hit his head on the windshield, was tackled moments later, Heeb said.
FBI agents checked the truck for bombs and other weapons that might signal an intended attack and found nothing.
"There's no nexus to terrorism at all from what we know now," Heeb said. "There's no reason to believe that was the case."
The truck was registered in Ohio, but the identity of its owner, why it was in Pittsburgh and other related information weren't immediately released.
The FBI was working with police to determine what charges to file, Heeb said. A police spokeswoman didn't immediately comment.
The local U.S. attorney's office, which would prosecute any federal charges that are filed, confirmed it had been contacted.
Heeb said the main focus was the driver's mental state and his history. Officials didn't identify the hospital where the driver was being treated, and his condition wasn't immediately available.
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