Wrongful death trial of protester Summer Taylor on I-5 to begin this week

SEATTLE — Jury selection for the wrongful death of Summer Taylor will start this week.

Taylor’s family is suing Washington state.

On July 4, 2020 Taylor was with a group of Black Lives Matters demonstrators on Interstate 5 in Seattle with they were struck by a hit-and-run driver.

Taylor was killed. Diaz Love was also hit and severely injured.

Washington State Patrol troopers had closed Interstate 5 to traffic on previous occasions to allow protesters to enter the freeway, but lawyers for Taylor’s family say troopers told protesters they were closing I-5, but didn’t close it fully, allowing Taylor to be hit.

The civil lawsuit claims the state didn’t do enough to prevent the tragedy.

The man who was behind the wheel of the car that struck Taylor and Love, Dawit Kelete, agreed to a plea deal in July 2023, pleading guilty to vehicular homicide, vehicular assault, and reckless driving.

Kelete later told officials that at the time, he was under the influence of opioids while struggling with “untreated addiction.”

Motions and opening statements are expected to begin next week.

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