Seattle protester struck by car dies
One of two people who were seriously injured over the weekend when a car drove into a protest on a closed section of Interstate 5 in Seattle has died, authorities said Sunday.
Summer Taylor, 24, of Seattle died Saturday night at Harborview Medical Center, a UW Medicine spokeswoman said. The other injured protester, Diaz Love, 32, of Portland, Ore., was hospitalized in serious condition, the spokeswoman said.
Both had livestreamed the protest before they were injured, the Seattle Times reported.
During the early hours of Saturday, a small group of protesters gathered on a section of Interstate 5 that had been blocked off by authorities, said Trooper Chase Van Cleave of the Washington State Patrol. It was one of many protests that have been organized in Seattle and across the country since the killing of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis in May.
The protesters had been on the highway for a little over an hour when a white car drove south through a blockade and toward the protesters at a “high rate of speed,” striking both victims, Van Cleave said. The driver continued heading south for more than a mile before coming to a stop, he added.
Both victims were taken to Harborview Medical Center.
Van Cleave identified the driver as Dawit Kelete, 27. Kelete, who the Seattle Times reported is from Seattle, was booked into the King County Jail on Saturday morning on a charge of vehicular assault, according to jail records.
“Early this morning, two women were hit by a car and very seriously injured while peacefully protesting,” Mayor Jenny Durkan of Seattle said on Twitter on Saturday afternoon. “Many others were almost hit and witnessed this horrific event. Our city stands beside their friends, families and loved ones in praying for these women and all who were there.”
State Patrol announced on Twitter on Saturday night that protesters would no longer be allowed on Interstate 5 “for the safety of all citizens, including protesters and motorists.”