One Seattle protestor dead, other in ICU after being hit by speeding car
One protester was killed and another left fighting for their life after a car was caught on camera speeding into a group of marchers dancing on a closed Seattle freeway, authorities said.
Horrifying footage showed a white Jaguar racing the wrong way on Interstate 5 early Saturday, skidding as it slammed into protesters at the “Black Femme March” who screamed “Car! Car!”
Two were unable to get out the way, with the footage showing them flung through the air as the car continued moving.
Summer Taylor, a 24-year-old Seattle native, died Saturday evening at Harborview Medical Center, spokesperson Susan Gregg said.
Diaz Love, 32, of Portland, Oregon, was in serious condition in the intensive care unit, Gregg said.
Love had been filming protesters dance at the march on Facebook Live — spinning around after the cries of “car” — and the live video suddenly ended after the sound of the impact.
Driver Dawit Kelete, 27, fled the scene, but was stopped by one of the protesters who chased him in a car for about a mile, finally pulling in front of him, according to Washington State Trooper Chase Van Cleave.
Kelete was booked into the King County Correctional Facility on Saturday morning on two counts of vehicular assault. Bail was denied.
Investigators say it is too early to know if he drove into them on purpose, but are “not suspecting drugs or alcohol as a factor,” Van Cleave said.
He was “reserved and appeared sullen” in custody, and “at one point he asked if the injured pedestrians were okay,” the Seattle Times said, citing a probable-cause statement.
Sen. Kamala Harris called the carnage “absolutely heartbreaking” in a tweet early Sunday along with a photo of a smiling, pink-haired Taylor.
“Summer Taylor was only 24-years-old, peacefully protesting for Black Lives Matter when they were struck by a car,” Harris wrote of the victim, who preferred the pronoun “they.”
“Thinking of their family during this difficult time and everyone in the movement today.”
A GoFundMe purportedly set up by friends described Taylor as a veterinary clinic worker.
“Summer is an incredibly strong and independent spirit,” the fundraiser said, calling them “a bright and caring person who’s presence elicits joy and laughter in others.”
Seattle has been the site of prolonged unrest following the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, including the controversial, recently closed police-free “Capitol Hill Occupied Protest” zone.
Protesters had shut down Interstate 5 for 19 days in a row — with police saying they would no longer be allowed on it following the death.
“Blocking a freeway is a crime and no longer are we going to enable that criminal conduct to continue,” State Patrol Capt. Ron Mead said, according to the Seattle Times.
“We are not going to be allowing protesters to access the freeway unimpeded, and there are consequences for criminal conduct.”
It was not immediately clear if Kelete had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.
With Post wires