One protester died Saturday and another was seriously injured after a car headed for a closed highway in Seattle, where a group was demonstrating against police brutality.
A spokesman for Harborview Medical Center told The Associated Press that Summer Taylor, 24, died at night. The hospital added that Diaz Love, 32, of Portland, Oregon, was in critical condition in her intensive care unit.
The incident came as protests continued in Seattle and other parts of the nation in the wake of the May 25 death of George Floyd, a black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck during almost nine minutes. Seattle is one of many cities that have been caught up in protests calling for more action against racial inequalities for weeks.
Protesters in Seattle on Friday night rallied on I-5, which had been closed for the rally. At around 1:30 a.m. local time, a car sped around vehicles blocking the freeway entrance, before colliding with a crowd, according to a Washington State Patrol police report obtained by the AP. The video of the scene showed people yelling “Car! Car! “As a white Jaguar approached.
The vehicle was reportedly seen hitting two people, who flew into the air before hitting the ground.
Private Chase Van Cleave told the AP that the driver, Dawit Kelete, fled the scene in his car after passing through the crowd of protesters. A protester followed Kelete by car and was able to stop him by pulling his car in front of Kelete’s, Cleave added. Kelete was taken into custody after the soldiers arrived.
He was reportedly admitted to the King County Correctional Center and facing charges of vehicular assault.
Authorities were still in the process of determining the motive for the crime as of Sunday morning. They were also trying to understand how Kelete hit the road, which had been closed by authorities for more than an hour at the time of the incident. Protesters had closed the highway for 19 consecutive days through Friday night, Washington State Patrol Captain Ron Mead said at a press conference.
Mead emphasized that the highway “is simply not a safe place” for protests and said he expected protesters to cease “illegal behavior” in blocking the interstate highway.
The state patrol said in a statement shared on Twitter that they would stop allowing protesters to enter I-5.
“For the safety of all citizens, including protesters and motorists, pedestrians walking on the highway will be arrested,” the state patrol said.
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