Driver hits three protesters in St. Louis: police

[August 24, 2017]    (Reuters) - A driver in St. Louis on Wednesday was taken into custody after three protesters who blocked traffic were hit by a car during a march for a transgender woman shot and killed by police a day earlier, said police and local media.

The driver, who was not identified by police, was taken into custody for felony fleeing, a block away from where a man and two women suffered minor injuries after they were hit by his car, said Schron Jackson, a spokeswoman for the St. Louis Police Department, in a statement.

The incident comes less than two weeks after a driver in Charlottesville, Virginia slammed into a crowd of counter-protesters who were demonstrating against a rally held by white nationalists. A 32-year-old woman was killed in the incident.

The injured people in St. Louis were taking part in a candlelight march for Kenny "Kiwi" Herring, a black transgender woman who was shot and killed by St. Louis police on Tuesday. Police said Herring attacked officers with a knife and that one officer was wounded, the St. Louis Post Dispatch reported.

As they marched in the intersection of Manchester Avenue and Sarah Street, a driver of a car approached, stopped and honked his horn as he tried to drive around the protesters, police said.

"The protesters surrounded the vehicle and began striking it with their hands and a flag pole. Several protesters also kicked and jumped on top of the vehicle," police said.

Three protesters were hit when the driver drove away. They refused medical attention on the scene, police said.

Police said officers attempted to stop driver of vehicle who initially refused to stop.

(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee; Editing by Michael Perry)

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