2 women hit by car on Seattle highway closed amid protests

Two women were struck by a white Jaguar whose driver sped through a protest-related closure on a freeway in Seattle, authorities said early Saturday.

A 24-year-old woman from Seattle suffered critical, life-threatening injuries and a 32-year-old woman from Bellingham had serious injuries, Washington State Patrol Captain Ron Mead said.

The driver, a 27-year-old man from Seattle, was in custody, Mead said, adding that impairment was not considered a factor. 

Charges remain under investigation, as does the motive and point of entry onto the interstate, but Mead said the unnamed man faced multiple felony charges and was suspected to have come on the wrong way on a ramp.

Video from the aftermath of the collision shows protesters catching up to the car and demanding that the driver get out.

But the driver, who had his hazard blinkers on, drives away. 

The image above shows the moment just before a white Jaguar speeding down the I-5 freeway in Seattle that was shut down due to protests collides with two demonstrators before dawn on Saturday

Authorities in Washington State said they do not believe alcohol played a factor. Investigators are also looking into a possible motive

Authorities in Washington State said they do not believe alcohol played a factor. Investigators are also looking into a possible motive

The collision sent the two women flying into the air, leaving one of them with life-threatening injuries and the other with serious injuries

The collision sent the two women flying into the air, leaving one of them with life-threatening injuries and the other with serious injuries

The image above shows one of the victims lying on the highway just moments after being struck by the car

The image above shows one of the victims lying on the highway just moments after being struck by the car

Mead said troopers did not know whether it was a targeted attack.

Video on social media showed a white car traveling at a high rate of speed navigate around two vehicles positioned across the lanes as a barrier. 

The car careened toward a small crowd of protesters on the freeway, striking two people who flew into the air before landing on the ground.

A nearly two-hour-long Facebook livestream captioned ‘Black Femme March takes I-5’ from Diaz Love 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. 

The Associated Press could not immediately reach her.

Seattle has been the site of prolonged unrest following the May 25 police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which sparked nationwide protests. 

Dozens of people were arrested this past week in connection with protests as demonstrations continue after authorities cleared the ‘Capitol Hill Occupied Protest’ zone Wednesday morning.

Mead said at the press conference that protesters had shut down the interstate for 19 days in a row. 

He emphasized that the freeway is ‘simply not a safe place’ for pedestrians, and said he hoped protesters would cease what he termed ‘unlawful behavior’ in blocking the interstate.

Washington State Patrol released two images (one of them seen above) of the white Jaguar. The image shows damage to the front of the vehicle

Washington State Patrol released two images (one of them seen above) of the white Jaguar. The image shows damage to the front of the vehicle

Investigators are looking into whether the driver drove around signs explicitly forbidding entry onto the freeway, part of which was closed off due to protests

Investigators are looking into whether the driver drove around signs explicitly forbidding entry onto the freeway, part of which was closed off due to protests

‘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.

Protesters were on the freeway for more than an hour before the car drove around the blockade around 1:36 a.m., Mead said.

The state patrol tweeted out two pictures of the driver´s car, a white Jaguar with significant damage to its bumper and windshield.

Seattle police tweeted that they were assisting the State Patrol with the scene, as southbound lanes of the freeway remained closed for investigation.

Meanwhile, Black Lives Matter protests continued throughout the country on Friday. 

Several hundred protesters made a peaceful return trip Friday to the St. Louis mansion owned by a white couple whose armed defense of their home during an earlier demonstration earned them both scorn and support.

Protesters marched along the busy public boulevard called Kingshighway, which intersects with Portland Place, a private street that is the site of the Renaissance palazzo-style home of Mark McCloskey, 61, and his 63-year-old wife, Patricia.

Chanting protesters on Friday stopped at the gate just outside the McCloskeys’ home for about 15 minutes. 

The gate that closes the private street to non-residents and extra metal barriers blocked the entrance to Portland Place, where the protesters had walked earlier in the week on their way to the mayor´s home nearby.

A Seattle police officer is seen kneeling against the neck of a protester that he was detaining at the intersection of Pine and Broadway at around 5:30pm on Thursday

A Seattle police officer is seen kneeling against the neck of a protester that he was detaining at the intersection of Pine and Broadway at around 5:30pm on Thursday

The officer presses his knee against the protester's neck as he is arresting him. The protester is heard asking the officer to remove his knee from his neck

The officer presses his knee against the protester’s neck as he is arresting him. The protester is heard asking the officer to remove his knee from his neck

A Seattle police officer (right) was filmed lunging and tackling a protester in the CHOP zone on Thursday afternoon

A Seattle police officer (right) was filmed lunging and tackling a protester in the CHOP zone on Thursday afternoon

Inside the gate, more than a dozen men in plain clothes walked the grounds and peered out from a second-floor balcony of the couple’s home. 

One protester briefly straddled an iron gate as if he was going to jump over, but did not. No one threw anything and no one behind the gates showed aggression. 

One man on the McCloskeys’ balcony clapped along with the chanting protesters.

The racially diverse crowd on Friday carried signs reading ‘Black Lives Matter,’ ‘Defund the Police’ and ‘No Justice, No Peace,’ and chanted slogans including, ‘when Black lives are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back,’ and ‘this is what democracy looks like.’

It was not immediately known if the McCloskeys were home.

Three police officers in riot gear are seen trying to detain the protester as other demonstrators nearby accuse one cop of pressing his knee against the man's neck

Three police officers in riot gear are seen trying to detain the protester as other demonstrators nearby accuse one cop of pressing his knee against the man’s neck

Video footage from before dawn on Thursday shows another Seattle police officer appear to press his knee into the neck of a demonstrator near the same intersection in downtown

Video footage from before dawn on Thursday shows another Seattle police officer appear to press his knee into the neck of a demonstrator near the same intersection in downtown

Video footage from before dawn on Thursday shows another Seattle police officer appear to press his knee into the neck of a demonstrator near the same intersection in downtown

The marchers then left and walked along the busy boulevard lined with condominiums, upscale apartments and hospitals to Interstate 64. 

Police had closed that road to traffic in both directions and were allowing the protesters to march onto the highway, where they sat for several minutes in honor of George Floyd, who was handcuffed and died May 25 after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed his knee on Floyd´s neck for nearly eight minutes.

The latest rally organized by the group Expect Us is among several protests in St. Louis in the weeks since George Floyd´s death in Minneapolis reopened longstanding concerns about police treatment of Black people in the region.

The McCloskeys are personal injury attorneys who suddenly became famous last Sunday. 

As an estimated 500 demonstrators marched near their home, the couple heard a loud commotion and saw a large group of people break an iron gate marked with ‘No Trespassing’ and ‘Private Street’ signs, according to a police report.

Video posted online and viewed by millions showed Mark McCloskey wielding a long-barreled gun and Patricia McCloskey waving a small handgun. No shots were fired. 

That same video showed the protesters walking through the gate and it was unclear when it was damaged.

As days went by, photos of the incident evolved into memes on both sides of the gun debate – some supporting the McCloskeys as examples of people protecting their own property, some making fun of them for pulling guns during what many perceived as an otherwise peaceful protest.

On Friday, Black Lives Matter protesters returned to the same street where two armed homeowners - Mark and Patricia McCloskey - stood in front of their house as demonstrators marched to St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson's residence in the Central West End of St. Louis on June 28

On Friday, Black Lives Matter protesters returned to the same street where two armed homeowners – Mark and Patricia McCloskey – stood in front of their house as demonstrators marched to St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson’s residence in the Central West End of St. Louis on June 28

Protesters raise their arms as they block an intersection while bringing attention to racial injustice in St. Louis on Friday

Protesters raise their arms as they block an intersection while bringing attention to racial injustice in St. Louis on Friday

Protesters march beyond a gate on a private street to bring attention to racial injustice on Friday in St. Louis

Protesters march beyond a gate on a private street to bring attention to racial injustice on Friday in St. Louis

Henry Webber (right) and Christine Jacobs wave from their front steps as protesters pass their home on a private street on Friday. The couple lives not far from Mark and Patricia McCloskey who were seen on the front lawn of their mansion with weapons drawn on June 28 while confronting passing protesters. Webber said he wanted to send a different message to the protesters

Henry Webber (right) and Christine Jacobs wave from their front steps as protesters pass their home on a private street on Friday. The couple lives not far from Mark and Patricia McCloskey who were seen on the front lawn of their mansion with weapons drawn on June 28 while confronting passing protesters. Webber said he wanted to send a different message to the protesters

Protesters sit on Interstate 64 in St. Louis for several moments on Friday in memory of George Floyd. The protest, the latest organized by the group Expect Us, was among several protests in the weeks since Floyd's death in Minneapolis reopened long-standing concerns about police treatment of black people in the United States

Protesters sit on Interstate 64 in St. Louis for several moments on Friday in memory of George Floyd. The protest, the latest organized by the group Expect Us, was among several protests in the weeks since Floyd’s death in Minneapolis reopened long-standing concerns about police treatment of black people in the United States

Protesters march in the street to bring attention to racial injustice on Friday in St. Louis

Protesters march in the street to bring attention to racial injustice on Friday in St. Louis

An armed man stands in the rear of the home belonging to Mark and Patricia McCloskey as protesters march past without incident on Friday

An armed man stands in the rear of the home belonging to Mark and Patricia McCloskey as protesters march past without incident on Friday

A couple holds hands as they take part in a protest bringing attention to racial injustice in St. Louis on Friday

A couple holds hands as they take part in a protest bringing attention to racial injustice in St. Louis on Friday

A protester bangs a drum while marching in the street to bring attention to racial injustice on Friday in St. Louis

A protester bangs a drum while marching in the street to bring attention to racial injustice on Friday in St. Louis

Protesters walk through the gate of a private street not far from the home of Mark and Patricia McCloskey on Friday in St. Louis

Protesters walk through the gate of a private street not far from the home of Mark and Patricia McCloskey on Friday in St. Louis

Protesters block an interstate as they march to bring attention to racial injustice on Friday in St. Louis

Protesters block an interstate as they march to bring attention to racial injustice on Friday in St. Louis

The attorney for the couple, Albert Watkins, said they are longtime civil rights advocates and support the message of the Black Lives Matter movement. He said they grabbed their guns when two or three protesters – who were white – violently threatened the couple, and their property and that of their neighbors.

Protest organizer Darryl Gray said on Friday, ‘Are we angry? Damn right we’re angry. But we’re nonviolent.’

Demonstrators on Sunday were simply passing by the McCloskeys home on the way to the home of Mayor Lyda Krewson, a Democrat. 

She drew their ire on June 26 when she read aloud the names and addresses of several residents who wrote letters calling for defunding the police force. 

The group chanted, ‘Resign, Lyda! Take the cops with you!’ Krewson’s home is a few blocks from the McCloskeys’ home.

A letter released Wednesday by more than three dozen neighbors of the couple condemned ‘the behavior of anyone who uses threats of violence, especially through the brandishing of firearms, to disrupt peaceful protest, whether it be in this neighborhood or anywhere in the United States.’ 

In Albuquerque, New Mexico, Black Lives Matter protesters blocked a roadway, causing a traffic jam.

A small group marched along an area near Interstate 40 and Louisiana as shops and restaurants along the way went into lockdown, according to KOB4 TV.

Police monitored the protests. No incidents were reported.

In New York City, protesters continue to camp out in what has been dubbed the ‘City Hall Autonomous Zone’ or ‘Occupy City Hall’ in Lower Manhattan.

At least two people were arrested by the NYPD near City Hall Park, according to Gothamist

One of those taken into custody was a protester with a blowhorn who was speaking to the crowd and reading out the record of an officer who has had various complaints against him.

‘While we was exposing him – he [the protester] was right here on the gate exposing him – he ordered the officers to come around in riot gear when we was protesting and talking peacefully,’ a witness who was at the protest said in an Instagram video.

An NYPD spokesperson told Gothamist that Daniel Mayo, 32, of Queens was taken into custody for making ‘threatening statements.’

Another demonstrator, Ryan Minett, a 27-year-old resident of Long Island, was also arrested for obstruction of governmental administration, disorderly conduct, and other offenses, the NYPD said. 

Video uploaded to social media shows protesters reading information about officers who have been accused of misconduct.

The claims against the officers were read from a website that tracks civilian complaints. 

In Aurora, Colorado, protesters surrounded a police precinct for hours on Friday evening as demonstrators vowed they would remain there until the city dismissed two officers involved in the death of Elijah McClain and who are still employed. 

The third officer involved in the death of the unarmed 23-year-old African American massage therapist last August was fired on Friday for responding to a text message that contained a photo mocking McClain’s death with ‘HaHa,’ 9 News TV reported.