Truck drives through abortion rights protesters in Iowa
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa -- A truck hit at least two protesters Friday night following an abortion rights rally in Iowa.
Lyz Lenz, a local journalist and author, told The Associated Press that she saw the driver swerve around another car and hit two women on a crosswalk in downtown Cedar Rapids around 7:15 p.m.
She said the truck drove over the foot of one of the protesters, and police took the woman to the hospital.
"There was a moment where I said, 'I think I'm going to see my friends die,'" said Lenz, who has written about numerous subjects including the white supremacist who drove his car into counterprotesters in Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.
Lenz said the women struck Friday were chanting disparaging things about Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds. She said it was hard to know whether the truck driver was motivated by the chants or being blocked by protesters.
Cedar Rapids police had no immediate comment but planned to release a statement.
Thousands of spirited demonstrators took to the streets in cities nationwide to protest Friday's Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. Most carried signs, chanted slogans and listened to speeches. In Seattle, hundreds of people blocked a downtown intersection, while in Los Angeles, others briefly walked onto a freeway.