Two women were injured when a car rammed into a crowd of protesters in Seattle.

Two women injured on closed freeway stretch; driver caught

SEATTLE — A 27-year-old man drove a car Saturday onto a closed freeway in Seattle and barreled through a crowd of protesters, critically injuring two women, officials said.

Dawit Kelete of Seattle drove the car around vehicles that were blocking Interstate 5 and sped into the crowd about 1:40 a.m., according to a police report released by the Washington State Patrol. Video taken at the scene by protesters showed people shouting “Car! Car!” before fleeing the roadway.

Summer Taylor, 24, of Seattle, was in critical condition, and Diaz Love, 32, of Portland, Oregon, was upgraded to serious condition in the intensive care unit, according to Harborview Medical Center spokeswoman Susan Gregg.

Love was filming the protest in a nearly two-hour-long Facebook livestream captioned “Black Femme

March takes I-5” when the video ended abruptly. With about 15 seconds left, shouts of “Car!” can be heard as the camera starts to shake before screeching tires and the sound of impact are heard.

A video posted on social media showed the white Jaguar racing toward a group of protesters who are standing behind several parked cars, set up for protection. The car swerved around the other vehicles and slammed into the two women, sending them flying into the air.

The driver, who was alone, fled the scene after hitting the protesters, trooper Chase Van Cleave said. One of the protesters got in a car and chased the driver for about a mile. He was able to stop him by pulling his car in front of the Jaguar, Van Cleave said.

Troopers arrived, and the driver was put in custody, Washington State Patrol Capt. Ron Mead said.

Kelete was booked into the King County Correctional Facility on Saturday on two counts of vehicular assault.

Officials were trying to determine the motive and where he got onto the interstate, which had been closed by the state patrol for more than an hour before the women were hit. Mead said they suspect Kelete drove the wrong way on a ramp. Trooper Rick Johnson said the driver went through a barrier that closed the freeway before striking the women.

Troopers did not know whether it was a targeted attack, but impairment was not considered a factor, Mead said.

Kelete has a Seattle address. He is listed in public records as a student who attended Washington State University between 2011 and 2017 majoring in business and commerce. His enrollment status could not be confirmed because the university was closed Saturday.

Seattle has been the site of prolonged unrest following the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis.