Violence at the white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, intensified Saturday after a vehicle plowed through a group of protesters. Graphic video of the collision made its way onto social media, showing individuals being thrown in the air as the car ran through the crowd before hitting another vehicle.
The footage shows two cars slowly making their way through the group before another vehicle smashes into one at high speed, thus causing a chain reaction.
According to CBS News, medics arrived on the scene shortly after the horrific incident, treating victims with mild to life-threatening injuries. Shortly after the collision, the Associated Press reported the car accident left one dead and 19 others injured. In another update by AP, at least 26 people were treated at local hospitals.
Charlottesville Mayor Mike Signer confirmed the news in a tweet.
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On Saturday afternoon, Charlottesville Police Chief Al Thomas announced the individual killed in the car crash was a 32-year-old female pedestrian. He declined to reveal the victim's information until authorities notified her family. Thomas also said the police department is treating the incident as a criminal homicide.
Prior to Thomas' statements, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe confirmed three people have died during the Unite the Right rally, including the woman who was killed in the car crash.
Gov. McAuliffe also sent a message to the white nationalists who traveled to Virginia: "Go home and never come back. There is no place for you here, there is no place for you in America."
It's unclear if the victims in the car crash were part of the counter-protests or residents; however, in one video you can hear an eye-witness shout: "That Nazi drove into people!" The Hill reports the driver was taken into police custody.
The crash took place hours after white nationalists clashed with a group of counter-protesters in downtown Charlottesville. Gov. McAuliffe declared a state of emergency Saturday after the conflict turned increasingly violent. Authorities eventually ordered hundreds of people out of Charlottesville downtown park, where nationalists gathered to protest the city's plan to remove a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee.
