Story highlights Berlin police say regular Polish driver was not at wheel during attack on market

Driver's boss says he wanted to leave early to buy Christmas gift for wife

Truck company owner says driver was uneasy about the area where he was due to unload

(CNN) The slain driver of a truck that was used to kill 12 people at the Berlin market had asked to finish his duties early so he could buy a Christmas gift for his wife, according to the owner of the trucking company.

Berlin police say that the Polish driver was not at the wheel during the attack and German Interior Minister Thomas De Maiziere said that the man appeared to have been shot dead.

Speaking to CNN affiliate TVN24, truck company owner Ariel Zurawski described the Polish driver, who has not yet been identified, as a "good man."

Zurawski says pictures shown to him by the police to help identify the victim were "very terrifying."

Based on the picture he had seen, he believes the driver, who was 1.8 meters tall and 120kg (240 pounds), may have tried to fight off the assailants.

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