$1.2 million bail for driver that hit 2 Seattle protesters

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

By MARTHA BELLISLE

SEATTLE (AP) — A judge on Monday set a $1.2 million bail for the man accused of driving a Jaguar on to a closed Seattle freeway and hitting two protesters, killing one and seriously injuring the other.

Dawit Kelete, who is Black, drove the car around vehicles that were parked on Interstate 5 to protect a group of Black Femme March demonstrators, part of the Black Lives Matter movement protesting racial inequality and police violence. The car hit two people and sped away about 1:40 a.m. Saturday, police said.

Over the weekend, a judge found probable cause to hold Kelete on an investigation of vehicular assault.

But the King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has yet to file charges against Kelete. It says it’s waiting for additional required information from the State Patrol.



Attorney John Henry Browne, left, stands in view of a video feed as his client Dawit Kelete sits in a chair, right, during a court appearance Monday, July 6, 2020, in Seattle. Kelete is accused of driving a car onto a closed Seattle freeway and hitting two protesters, killing one, over the weekend. Seattle has been the site of prolonged unrest over the death of George Floyd, a Black man who was in police custody in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)


Read more: https://apnews.com/7f296e8e535f0a6cd15b7714bd2756b1

[hlthe2b]

1. Anyone know this guy's story? (i.e., why on earth?--what motivated his actions?)

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

2. I am waiting for that, too...

... until then I do not even want to risk speculating on his motivation. Sigh...

[madville]

3. My guess and this is pure speculation

Is that he wanted to run wide open on the empty freeway for a thrill and at a high rate of speed came up on the protestors vehicles blocking most of the road. He tried to shoot the gap by the white van and hit the two women on the other side of that.

I doubt it was a premeditated attack, seems more like a reckless accident but he’s still looking at vehicular manslaughter at a minimum.

[muriel_volestrangler]

4. That was my guess too, but as you say, we're speculating

It looks like he was in a skid before he hit them, so it's hard to say he aimed at them.

[The Magistrate]

5. Transphobic Or Homophobic Bigotry, Sir, Could Be A Factor

[MichMan]

7. How would he know anything about the victims traveling at that speed?

[The Magistrate]

8. How Much Local Coverage Was Diven To the Protest, Sir?

Was this an action by the Black Femmes March exclusively? Did coverage concentrate on them (as coverage often does concentrate on the most flamboyant elements)?

I said such bigotries could be a factor, I did not say for sure that they were. I confess I am always a bit suspicious when 'they are very religious' is offered as a warrant for the goodness of a perpetrator when the person harmed is of a sort religions of the Abrahamic strain focus a good deal of hatred towards.

[NotHardly]

6. That is a lot less bail than is required for cops who kill persons they try to arrest... just say'in