A motorist hit several people on Friday afternoon in downtown Manhattan where a protest was marching against the detention of undocumented migrants, police and witnesses told AFP. Several injured were transported to different hospitals in the metropolis, New York police told AFP. “The injuries do not appear to be life-threatening” for the victims, the spokesperson said.
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Five protesters interviewed all assured that the vehicle, driven by a woman, had deliberately accelerated after being slowed down for the first time by several people.
The police spokesperson nevertheless considered that it was “too early to say whether (it was) an intentional act or an accident”. The driver remained at the scene after the incident and was arrested, according to the same source.
The incident took place shortly after 4 p.m. (10 p.m. in Belgium), when around fifty demonstrators, according to several witnesses, were at the crossroads of 39th Street and 3rd Avenue, when the vehicle drove straight into the procession.
The demonstrators were protesting against the conditions of detention of undocumented migrants arrested by the immigration services (ICE), imprisoned in particular in Hackensack, New Jersey, where several of them went on hunger strike.
“I tried to slow the car down,” said Angel Rivera, a protester. “She slowed down a bit… and left. I dived to the side. “
“I saw people being thrown in the air,” said Joey, a protester who refused to release his last name. “It was totally intentional. “
“I thought I was going to die,” said Budi, another protester who also refused to give his last name, saying that he regretted that the police officers present, who were supervising the demonstration, did not better protected the demonstrators.
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