WASHINGTON – District of Columbia police said Saturday that a driver will not be charged for striking three people taking part in an Occupy DC protest in downtown Washington.
Lt. Christopher Micciche (MITCH'-ih-kay) of the D.C. police said the driver was not cited because he had a green light when his vehicle struck the three on Friday night.
He said witnesses told police that the three pedestrians "either ran toward or jumped in front of the moving vehicle." He said one pedestrian jumped on the hood of the car. One of them was cited for being in the roadway.
"The protesters were apparently trying to block the roadway," Micciche said. "It was essentially an accident where three individuals were injured but they were in violation by being in the roadway."
Officer Araz Alali said Saturday that all three were transported to local hospitals and released, though Alali could not release their names or the name of the driver because a police report detailing the incident was not yet available Saturday evening.
Hundreds of protesters affiliated with Occupy DC shut down streets Friday near the city's convention center in downtown, where a conservative group was gathering.
The male driver of the vehicle was traveling southbound on 7th Street NW at K Street NW when the accident occurred at about 10 p.m.
One protester, 29-year-old Jesse Folks of Riverdale, Md., told The Washington Post that he was standing in the street with other demonstrators near the convention center when the car "just gassed it into a bunch of people."
"We were in the street, but this guy didn't even give us a chance to get out of the way," Folks said.
Micciche said witnesses provided a different account.
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