A pickup truck struck a protester in Buffalo, New York, on Wednesday night, authorities said, hours after a grand jury in Louisville declined to charge two police officers in the killing of Breonna Taylor.
The victim, who was on a bike, was struck at about 8:45 p.m. ET in Niagara Square near City Hall and is expected to survive after being taken to Erie County Medical Center, police said.
The bicyclist is a 59-year-old Buffalo woman and both she and the driver are cooperating with investigators, police said.
A bicyclist group, Slow Roll Buffalo, identified the victim as board member Karen Huffman.
She was acting as a legal observer of the protest when "a motorist who had been stopped in front of City Hall suddenly revved up and rammed through the crowd," according to a group statement.
"Karen is currently hospitalized in stable condition, grateful for the rapid response from volunteer medics on the scene as well as the ongoing outpouring of love and care for her," the group added.
With the investigation only hours old on Thursday, a police spokesman declined to say whether they believe the crash was an accident or targeted attack.
Demonstrators had been protesting the decision in Kentucky hours earlier not to bring any charges against two police officers involved in the shooting of Taylor inside her apartment on March 13. A third officer, whose gunfire tore into the apartment of Taylor's neighbor, was indicted on three counts of wanton endangerment.
Wednesday night's collision was partially captured in a Facebook Live video, as it showed the vehicle motoring toward a crowd before an impact and screams could be heard.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" a male voice near the camera yelled.
The camera holder then races through the square in hopes of catching up with the vehicle, before coming to a truck with a female driver inside — stopped and speaking on a cellphone.
"So this lady ran someone over, gunned her car through a crowd of people," the male camera operator said.
The man tried speaking to the woman, who was concentrating on her cellphone conversation.
"You were at a dead stop and you gunned it," he said. "Come on!"
The police killings of Taylor and George Floyd in Minneapolis have sparked months of protests against systemic racism.
Niagara Square in Buffalo was the scene of an earlier confrontation between police and protesters when officers in riot gear pushed a 75-year-old man who fell backward and hit his head on the pavement.
The incident was caught on tape and New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said it "disturbs our basic sense of decency and humanity."
"Why, why? Why was that necessary?" Cuomo said at the time. "Where was the threat? Older gentleman, where was the threat? Then you just walk by the person when you see blood coming from his head?"
