A driver was arrested after being caught on video nearly running over a 16-year-old girl who was part of a George Floyd protest in West Babylon on Tuesday evening, Suffolk County police said.
The victim reported that she was standing near the driveway of the 7-Eleven on Little East Neck Road when a man driving a truck veered the vehicle towards her, forcing her to move out of the way to avoid being hit, according to First Precinct Crime Section officers investigating the incident.
The video shows the victim jumping out of the way as the white Chevrolet SUV veers over a curb and onto the sidewalk toward her. WABC reported that the girl said as the driver drove off, he shouted, “white lives matter.”
The man was arrested Friday for Reckless Endangerment and Endangering the Welfare of a Child. Police did not immediately release the suspect’s name.
The protest that the girl was participating in was one of dozens locally this week in support of nationwide protests sparked by a shocking video of a white Minneapolis police officer allegedly killing an unarmed black man by placing a knee on his neck and ignoring the victim’s pleas that he couldn’t breathe. Four cops were fired and charged in the death of George Floyd.
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