Protester Hit by Driver on Freeway Has Died

Summer Taylor was only 24 years old
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jul 5, 2020 12:50 PM CDT
Bad News for Protester Hit by Driver on Freeway
This early Saturday, July 4, 2020 photo provided by the Washington State Patrol shows the vehicle of Dawit Kelete who is suspected of driving into a protest on Interstate 5 in Seattle.   (Washington State Patrol via AP)

One of two people hit by a man who drove his car onto a closed Seattle freeway and into a crowd protesting police brutality has died, the AP reports. Summer Taylor, 24, of Seattle died Saturday evening at Harborview Medical Center, spokesperson Susan Gregg said. Taylor and Diaz Love, 32, of Portland, Oregon, were hit by the car that barreled through a panicked crowd of protesters on Interstate 5 early Saturday morning. Dawit Kelete of Seattle drove the car around vehicles that were blocking I-5 and sped into the crowd about 1:40am, according to a police report. Video (WARNING: graphic content) taken at the scene by protesters showed people shouting "Car! Car!" before fleeing the roadway. Love is in serious condition in the intensive care unit, Harborview, Gregg said.

The driver, who was alone, reportedly fled the scene after hitting the protesters, and one of the other 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, police said, but troopers arrived and the driver was put in custody. Kelete was described by officers as reserved and sullen when he was arrested, and also asked if the pedestrians were OK. He was booked Saturday morning on two counts of vehicular assault. Bail was denied. Officials were trying to determine the motive as well as where he got onto the interstate, which had been closed by the state patrol for more than an hour before the protesters were hit. Mead said they suspect Kelete drove the wrong way on a ramp.

(More hit-and-run stories.)

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