Woman arrested for hitting Elizabeth City protesters with car, police say

A North Carolina woman was arrested Monday evening after she allegedly struck peaceful protesters with her car, police said.

A North Carolina woman was arrested Monday evening after she allegedly struck peaceful protesters with her car, and police are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime. The incident occurred at approximately 6:45 p.m. ET at an intersection in Elizabeth City, a small coastal town some 90 miles northeast of Greenville. People were holding a peaceful demonstration to call for transparency in the fatal shooting of a local resident, Andrew Brown Jr., when a motorist hit two protesters, according to the Elizabeth City Police Department. An ambulance transported the victims -- identified as Michelle Fleming Morris and Valerie Lindsey, both 42 and of Elizabeth City -- to the nearby Sentara Albemarle Medical Center, where they were treated for non-life-threatening injuries and subsequently released, police said. The motorist -- identified as 41-year-old Lisa Michelle O'Quinn of Greenville -- was taken into custody and charged with two felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon with the intent to kill, one count of careless and reckless driving and one count of unsafe movement. She was being held at the Albemarie District Jail on a $40,000 secured bond and has an initial court appearance set for Thursday, according to police. It was unknown whether she had obtained legal representation.