Two women were hospitalized early Saturday morning after a car went through a closure related to the protest on an interstate highway in Seattle, authorities said. A 24-year-old woman is in critical condition and a 32-year-old woman is in a stable condition, the hospital said. Both suffered multiple injuries.
CBS Seattle affiliate KIRO-TV reported that Dawit Kelete is in custody after fleeing the scene. The reason was not clear until Saturday morning, but authorities said the deterioration was not a factor. Kelete, 27, was charged with two counts of vehicular assault, according to KIRO-TV. Bail has been denied.
The video posted on social media showed that a white car that appeared to be driving at high speed was crossing police barriers into a small crowd. As you can hear people yelling “car,” the video showed the car hitting two people who flew into the air as the car continued to drive.
The highway had been closed for over an hour when the car drove through the crowd. The Washington State Patrol tweeted images of the car involved, a white Jaguar that had damage to the bumper and windshield.
Washington State Patrol Captain Ron Mead said at a press conference early in the morning that the interstate highway had been closed for protests for 19 straight days, the Seattle Times reported. Mead said Saturday that the interstate highway “is simply not a safe place” for protests.
The protests have taken place in Seattle since George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis on May 25. The police earlier this week broke the “busy” protest area of the city, known as “Capitol Hill Busy Protest,” or CHOP, after two fatal shootings in the area.
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