Woman struck by car during Seattle protest dies in hospital

A woman who was hit by a car during protests in Seattle has died, police say.

The vehicle drove onto a closed road and struck two people among a crowd protesting against police brutality on Saturday morning.

Summer Taylor, 24, of Seattle, died in the evening at Harbourview Medical Centre, spokeswoman Susan Gregg said.

Diaz Love, 32, of Portland, Oregon, remains in a serious condition in the intensive care unit.

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 released by the Washington State Patrol.

Ms 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 tyres and the sound of impact are heard.

A graphic video posted on social media showed the white Jaguar racing towards a group of protesters who are standing behind several parked cars, set up for protection.

The car swerves around the other vehicles and slams into the two protesters, 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 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, Mr Van Cleave said.

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

Kelete was described by offices as reserved and sullen when he was arrested, according to court documents. He also asked if the pedestrians were OK, the documents say.

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

He faces a second court hearing on Monday at which the judge will determine if he can be released on bail, according to court documents.

It was not immediately clear if Kelete had an lawyer who could speak on his behalf.

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 on Wednesday morning.