[ad_1]
Published in:
On Friday, December 11, 2020, a driver rammed a car into downtown Manhattan in New York City, US police said, several people were demonstrating against the detention of illegal immigrants on hunger strike.
The New York Police Department told AFP that several of the injured were taken to various hospitals in the city.
“The injuries do not appear to threaten the lives of the victims,” a police spokesman said.
Five protesters confirmed that the car driven by a woman was intentionally accelerating after people forced it to slow down for the first time.
But the police spokesman said: “It is too early to say whether the accident was intentional or accidental.” The driver remained at the scene after the accident and was detained, according to the same source.
The accident occurred shortly after 4:00 p.m. (2100 GMT), when, according to witnesses, about fifty protesters were at the intersection of 39th and Third Avenue, when the car sped towards the crowd.
“I tried to slow down the car a little … then it accelerated and I threw myself to the side of the road,” protester Ángel Rivera said.
Another protester, who refused to be identified, confirmed to his family: “I thought I was going to die,” and expressed regret that the policemen surrounding the demonstration did nothing to ensure better protection for the protesters.
The protesters were protesting the detention conditions of secret immigrants arrested and incarcerated by immigration services in Hackensack, NJ, in particular, and most of them are currently on hunger strike.
The media first announced that the rally was organized by the “Black Lives Matters” movement.
ABC News reported that between forty and fifty protesters were in the area at the time. He added that the demonstration took place in the street and the protesters surrounded a car. And the same channel continued, then the car hit the protesters, injuring at least six of them.
A witness told NBC that the car was a BMW carrying two white women sitting in the front seats. “As far as I know, they beat at least six of our peaceful protesters,” he added, adding that he fled by car.
The same woman explained that “she heard people yelling. I looked back and saw a female driver run over them.” He added that he saw “flying objects” in the air as people moved out of the way of the car.
She said: “The car was speeding and people were trying to run. There were bodies and people running and heading towards people who were sitting on the sidewalks after being hit.”
“I saw people being thrown into the air,” said Joy, who declined to give her last name. “It was definitely deliberate.”
