Virginia State Police Police block the scene of the crash.
A car slammed into a group of counter protesters in Charlottesville, Virginia today. The suspect is in custody, but the name has not been released. The group hit by the car were protesting a white nationalist rally. The rally was in response to the removal of a Robert E. Lee statue from Emancipation Park. At first, authorities thought four to five were injured, but that number later grew to 19. Now it appears that a total of 34 were injured, 19 in the crash and 15 from other incidents in the rally, according to Charlottesville City Hall.
The Charlottesville mayor confirmed that there was one death from the crash.
I am heartbroken that a life has been lost here. I urge all people of good will–go home.
The names of the injured have not yet been released.
Authorities originally said at least four to six people were hurt and the injuries ranged from minor to life-threatening.
But a hospital official later confirmed that 19 were injured and one person died:
Now we know that number was even higher than that, with up to 34 injured: 19 from the crash and 15 in the rally:
The name of the driver has not yet been released, at the time of publication.
Due to concerns about violence, the UVA Medical Center is on lockdown. Only emergency vehicles, patients, and people visiting patients can drive in, according to NBC29:
Officials from UVA Medical Center say hospital is on lockdown. Only emergency vehicles, patients, and those visiting patients can drive in.
According to witnesses, counter protesters were hit as they turned a corner during their protest march. They were chanting things like “our streets” in response to the words “Unite the Right.” This happened after police had dispersed a group of white nationalists, CBS reported.
This photo shows a woman being brought to an ambulance, while she appeared unresponsive:
This likely intentional car crash is VERY serious. Woman being brought to ambulance seemed unresponsive #Charlottesville
White nationalists had been clashing with counter protesters for hours before the collision. Alt-right demonstrators were protesting the city’s decision to remove a state of Confederate General Robert E. Lee from Emancipation Park.
Here is a video of what happened.
WARNING: The video may be disturbing.
WARNING: Mature Content: Video of car crashing into people protesting white nationalist rally in #Charlottesville (via @brennanmgilmore)
The crash happened near Water & 4th streets. Local residents were asked to avoid that area so medics could access the scene.
See more videos of the crash in Heavy’s story below: