Car plows into US protest, injuring several


FE Team | Published: December 12, 2020 21:13:09 | Updated: December 17, 2020 17:08:25


Security personnel standing in the street at the location of a vehicle that struck multiple pedestrians at a protest on Third Avenue in the Manhattan borough of New York City in the United States on Friday evening –Reuters Photo

A car plowed into a crowd of about 50 people at a protest that spilled into the streets of Manhattan in New York on Friday afternoon, injuring several people.

The woman behind the wheel of the BMW sedan was detained for questioning by law enforcement, the New York City Police Department said.

The incident occurred just after 4:00 pm at the corner of 39th Street and Third Avenue in the Murray Hill neighbourhood adjacent to Midtown Manhattan, reports Reuters.

None of the injuries appeared to be life-threatening, and the motorist involved remained at the scene, police said. Few other official details were immediately available.

Local media reports said six people were struck by the car, but it was unclear as to how many people were taken to hospitals.

Some accounts on social media described a chaotic scene around a stopped car surrounded by protesters, before the vehicle lurched into the crowd, sending some people and bicycles tumbling. Those reports could not immediately be confirmed by Reuters.

Police and several local media outlets said the protest was sponsored by the racial justice group Black Lives Matter.

Witnesses said that demonstration was held in solidarity with nine undocumented immigrants staging a hunger strike in a New Jersey lockup, in custody of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.

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