SEATTLE (AP) – A guy accused of driving a car on a closed Seattle road this month and beating two protesters, killing one and seriously injuring the other, pleaded guilty Wednesday.
Dawit Kelete, 27, pleaded not guilty to charges of manslaughter, attack and careless driving of vehicles in the July 4, collision that killed Summer Taylor, 2, KING-TV reported. The other user who hit, Diaz Love of Portland, Oregon, remains hospitalized.
Kelete has been jailed since his arrest and the passing sentence has held bail at $1.2 million after his lawyer pleaded on behalf of Kelete, who did not discuss the process.
Prior to the hearing, Supporters taylor and Love gathered near the King County Courthouse, calling for justice in the case.
In early July, Kelete drove a Jaguar around cars stationed on Interstate five toward Black Lives Matter protesters demonstrating against racial inequality and police violence, police said. The car hit Taylor and Love and then left the scene, the government said.
Taylor, a veterinary clinic worker, died that night. Love, 32, was first hospitalized in a serious condition with damaged legs and arms and internal injuries, prosecutors said.
Kelete is black and his lawyers said the incident was a twist of fate and not an intentional act or a political statement.
“No word can express or compensate for the suffering that Diaz Love, the circle of relatives, Summer Taylor’s circle of relatives and friends have suffered lately,” Kelete’s circle of relatives said in a letter published by the lawyers. “We recognize that the pain is deep, raw and unbearable.”
Seattle, scene of prolonged riots following the police killing of George Floyd in May in Minneapolis, sparked protests across the country.