The frames I have seen show him at least tapping the brakes before he hit anyone, then the hit on the left rear fender, then gas, move forward at speed about twenty feet, then hit a car and then reverse.
I'll see if I can find the video and link it.
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OK, in the video Charlottesville: Car Crashing into protesters (Exhibit A) shows the car rolling down the street. As it fades into the distance, moving forward, it gets attacked from behind, before hitting anyone.
That video can be "spliced" with this one Car Plows Through Protesters 3 - Charlottesville, VA 8/12/2017 (Exhibit B), which shows the results of people being plowed into by the driver as the car was moves forward, stopping and then reversing only after it rear ends another vehicle.
Now, from the first video, it's quite apparent to me that the car is rolling down the street at an unsafe speed, given the people both around and in the street. The one guy who takes a swipe at the back end of the car doesn't seem like he changed the driver's behavior much.
Combining these two videos, it seems apparent to me that the driver was rolling down the street at an excessive speed given the conditions and situation, and creating a hazardous situation by doing so. None of us would go "rolling" down the street at that speed with people on both sides, as well as in the street ahead, and with people crossing back and forth.
If this guy was concerned about his safety, he would not have proceeded forward into a more densely crowded area, it seems to me. He seems to be deliberately courting danger, with respect to his own safety and that of the pedestrians.
I'd be interested in seeing other videos. But the combination of these two alone looks pretty damning to me.
Other than the one clown taking a swipe at the car's rear end, I don't see how "cruising down the street" directly towards an area crowded with pedestrians is any kind of defensive maneuver. Quite the opposite.
Offhand, I'd say this guy is in BIG trouble, and deserves to be. I don't see any break lights coming on during Exhibit A, but I could be mistaken.
The more I see this, the more it looks to me like this f-cker deliberately plowed into protesters.
Good luck arguing that he was fearing for his safety. If that was the case, he could have gone another direction, backed up before plowing into people, or just generally avoided the area.
It seems to me like this guy was "looking for trouble".
These are my thoughts after observing and considering both videos...