A Black Lives Matter protester was killed after a man drove into a crowd protesting police brutality on the Fourth of July in Seattle.
Summer Taylor, 24, succumbed to their injuries Saturday night following the violent incident. Taylor and their friend, 32-year-old Diaz Love of Portland, were hit by the car that barreled through a panicked crowd of protesters on Seattle’s Interstate 5, officials told The Associated Press.
Dawit Kelete of Seattle drove the car around vehicles that were blocking I-5 and sped into the crowd about 1:40 a.m. Saturday, according to a police report released by the Washington State Patrol. Video taken at the scene by protesters showed people shouting “Car! Car!” before running for their lives.
Love is in serious condition in the intensive care unit of a Seattle hospital, officials said. Love was filming the protest for nearly two hours on Facebook livestream when the video ended abruptly; with about 15 seconds left, you can hear the people yelling “Car!” as the camera starts to shake before screeching tires and the sound of impact are heard.
A graphic video posted on social media showed a white Jaguar racing toward a group of protesters who are standing behind several parked cars, which were set up for protection. The car swerves around the other vehicles and slams into Taylor and Love, sending them flying into the air.
The driver fled the scene after hitting the protesters, Trooper Chase Van Cleave told The Associated Press. One of the other protesters got in a car and chased after him for about a mile. He was able to stop him by pulling his car in front of the Jaguar, Van Cleave said.
The driver was taken into custody. Kelete was described by officers as reserved and sullen when he was arrested, according to court documents. He also asked if the pedestrians were OK, the documents said.
Kelete was booked into the King County Correctional Facility on Saturday morning on two counts of vehicular assault and was denied bail.
Kelete is due in court Monday when the judge in his case will determine if he can be released on bail, according to court documents.
Officials were trying to determine Kelete’s motive. They also were trying to figure out how he got onto the interstate considering it had been closed by state patrol for more than an hour before the protesters were hit.
We’ll keep you posted on any updates.
Want updates directly in your text inbox? Hit us up at 917-722-8057 or click here to join!
