Driver sentenced for 2020 fatal collision with protesters on I-5
The man who drove into a crowd of protestors on I-5 in downtown Seattle in the summer of 2020 has been sentenced to more than six years in prison.
Dawit Kelete pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and other charges in July. His sentence is for both vehicular homicide and reckless driving. His lawyers agreed to the recommended maximum sentence for the charges.
RELATED: Protester Diaz Love speaks out about deadly Seattle car ramming and the journey to recovering
Prosecutors say he drove the wrong way onto I-5 at Olive Way, as Black Lives Matter protestors gathered on the freeway lanes. The Washington State Patrol had blocked access to the freeway, but Kelete drove around the closure. His vehicle then struck and killed Summer Taylor, and severely injured Diaz Love.
Summer Taylor's family issued a victim impact statement after the fatal incident. They remembered Taylor as a “burst of creativity, wit, and charm.” Taylor's family also previously sued the city and the state for failing to protect protesters from drivers.
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Paige Browning
Newscaster
Paige hosts midday newscasts and monitors news of significance to the Puget Sound region. She hopped over Washington’s mountains to join KUOW, after hosting news and reporting at Spokane Public Radio since 2011. She began her start in radio while a journalism student at University of Montana, by sharing stories with KUFM. Paige was raised in the mountains and rivers around Spokane. In her spare time she cheers on the Mariners in the summer, and hopes for snow in the winter.
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