2 women hit by car on Seattle highway closed for protests

Two women were hit by a car early Saturday when a driver sped through a closure on a Seattle freeway during a protest, The Associated Press reported.

A 24-year-old woman from Seattle suffered critical, life-threatening injuries, and a 32-year-old woman from Bellingham was seriously injured, Washington State Patrol Capt. Ron Mead said.

The driver has been taken into custody, according to Mead. The 27-year-old man from Seattle faces multiple felony charges and was suspected to have driven the wrong way on a ramp.

Troopers do not know whether it was a targeted attack, but impairment is not considered a factor. 

Here are two pictures of the suspect vehicle that struck two protesters on I-5 this morning. Investigation into motive and point of entry in to I-5 are still under investigation. pic.twitter.com/gU1QH6TFTu

— Trooper Rick Johnson (@wspd2pio) July 4, 2020

Protesters have reportedly shut down the interstate for 19 consecutive day as part of demonstrations against police brutality and racial injustice following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed Black man who died in Minneapolis police custody.

They had been on the freeway for approximately an hour before the car broke through the blockade around 1:36 a.m.

Graphic footage circulated on social media appears to show the white car barreling down the freeway and navigating around two vehicles positioned across the lanes as a barrier, The Associated Press reported.  The vehicle can be seen striking two people, who flew into the air before hitting the ground.

Mead emphasized at a press conference that the freeway is “simply not a safe place” for demonstrations and said he hoped the protesters would cease the “unlawful behavior” of blocking the interstate.

“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.