Taylor (Image: The Stritmatter Firm)
The wrongful death trial against the State of Washington in the crash that killed activist Summer Taylor in a 2020 Black Lives Matter protest on I-5 is set to begin, the law firm representing Taylor’s family announced.
The Stritmatter Firm says that the state’s “failure to properly and fully close the freeway that night” allowed the driver that struck and killed Taylor as a group of protestors filled I-5 to enter the roadway in the deadly incident.
“The state could have prohibited protests on the freeway. Instead it allowed the protests, told the protesters it was closing the road, but failed to fully close the road,” the firm wrote in an announcement on the case, adding that the state “closed the freeway on 30 different occasions to allow the protesters to occupy the roadway on 19 different evenings.”
In July, the state’s motion to dismiss the case was denied.
Jury selection and trial motions are scheduled to begin on Monday with opening statements slated to start a week later.
In January, lawyers representing Taylor’s estate in a group of 50 plaintiffs harmed by the police response to 2020 Black Lives Matter and CHOP protests won a $10 million settlement with the with city.
“This decision was the best financial decision for the city considering risk, cost, and insurance,” Seattle City Attorney Ann Davison said in a statement at the time, saying that the case had been “a significant drain on the time and resources of the city.”
Taylor, a Capitol Hill resident and protester died in the July 2020 crash on I-5 as Dawit Kelete sped through the demonstration on the freeway. Last September, CHS reported on the plea deal that brought a 6 1/2 year sentence for Kelete.
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following this “logic” — yes, let’s please have armed State officials at every freeway onramp/exit
The freeway isn’t for walking on.
Driving isn’t a right
Crass money grab….
Exactly. If Ms. Taylor and her fellow activists had not acted illegally, then she would be alive today. That said, why is the State Patrol “allowing” such demonstrations on to the freeway? Did they really OK the protest?
But dude…2 wrongs do not make a right. They are cops. Protect us is the first priority. Criminals get CPR too for example. The idiots didn’t listen when they were taught “don’t play in the road”. I fight for them as a Marine. We protect them under the law and by oath. In spite of the fact they are idiots.
There’s lots of places to protest safely. Get news exposure ect. The freeway is simply a bad idea. 100’s of millions of dollars of goods flows in/out and through Seattle a day. Blocking the freeway on paper sounds wonderful. Except not everyone is stable in this world. The folks blocking freeways. And the murderers who road rage.
They overplayed their hands and started using it as the first play in the book as opposed to the last play or not in the book preferably. Ya can’t protest dead.
No… they did not OK the protest, they just didn’t drag them off using force. It is my understanding that the State Patrol did close the roadway, but it was not done so that the protesters could get out there – they had no permission. It was done in response to them getting out there…
They died in a cause they believed in. That is where my interest stops, sorry family, your kid died doing a cause they believed in and supported. I don’t care. Dont protest on the only major freeway through Seattle, ruining another black life. It was all performative theater by activists to feel included. Everyone else thrust does the same thing? I don’t care what happens to you. How many posts do we have on Friday evening regarding RayShauna Webber? Zero.
Ruining another black life? Are you referring to the driver? He ruined his own life. He was driving the wrong way and then continued to drive after hitting the two women. He was going through opiate withdrawal.
I don’t disagree that they put themselves in harm’s way despite pretty much being begged not to. But I failed to see the driver as the victim just because he’s a black man.
And if there are zero comments for the article about RayShauna Webber It’s because you didn’t leave any.
Good job concern trolling the driver’s race which is completely irrelevant but you knew what you were doing
They were protesting police, calling to defund the police yet they wanted police protection.
Victim blaming is not a good look here Mimi
looks fine to me 🤷🏼♀️
Hope the state loses and is made to pay at least 8 figures so they won’t ever allow “protestors” to take over a highway again. They’re at fault anyway since they did fail to secure a road they claimed was closed. Never should have announced its closure without the means to actually secure it.
With that, stay tf out of the interstate; if you want to make a fool of yourself go do it downtown like all the other idiots.