As we previously reported, two protesters were hit by a car early Saturday morning while a group was illegally blocking the I-5 highway in Seattle.

Radicals had blocked off the road with cars stretched out across the highway.

Police blocked off ramps to get onto the highway in order to protect the protesters even though they were illegally assembled there.

Police believe the car that got on the highway went the wrong way up a ramp to get onto the highway.

Warning very graphic:

Two Seattle protesters just got run over. Don’t stand in the middle of the road at night, damn. pic.twitter.com/TqBcUtfszl

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) July 4, 2020

Police identified the two people who were hit as Summer Taylor, 24, and Diaz Love, 32, both of whom appear to be white. Love was filming the group when the car hit.

Warning very graphic:

Moment before impact at the BLM protest in Seattle. The protest had gone on for almost 2 hours, moving from street to street before reaching the highway, where they parked vans on the road and prepared to block vehicles. With the van obscuring the road, few saw the car coming. pic.twitter.com/iVITRLPgND

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) July 4, 2020

Taylor died last night at the hospital and Love remains in serious condition.

Police also identified the driver as Dawit Kelete.

Despite the fact that it is now more than a day since the accident and Kelete has been in custody since yesterday, no official pictures of Kelete have yet been published by media, although media has identified him as 27 years old and formerly a student at Washington State University.

From ABC7:

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.

Although an official mugshot has not yet been released, from pics of an individual with the same name, age and attendance at Washington State University, he appears to be black.

Meanwhile now the Washington State Police are saying they will no longer tolerate protesters illegally being on the highway and will arrest anyone who does it. Washington State Patrol Capt. Ron Mead told reporters that protesters had shut down the interstate for 19 days in a row.

From KTLA:

“In a time that requires care and flexibility, we are exercising the safest means possible to avoid injuries or worse to motorists, protesters, WSDOT personnel and our troopers by closing the roadway and separating protesters from vehicular traffic,” Chief John Batiste said in a statement on June 27, responding to complaints about the road closures.

“My hope is, as a result of this tragedy, protesters will reconsider their desire to be on the interstate because I cannot guarantee their safety, plain and simple,” Mead said.

Mead said drugs and alcohol were not considered a factor in the incident. Kelete was being held on charges of vehicular assault. He has a court hearing on Monday.

So once again, just like with the autonomous zone, officials allowed a dangerous situation to hang out there until there until someone was killed. Now they say they’ll arrest people, but why weren’t they preventing it before? They had people dancing in the middle of the highway in the middle of the night.

Mayor Durkan showed once again she doesn’t get it.

No one should risk their life for demanding better from our city, state and country.
Washington State Patrol is leading the investigation and they have assured us they are quickly and thoroughly investigating the incident. I have offered any city resources needed.

— Mayor Jenny Durkan (@MayorJenny) July 4, 2020