A Black man who was hit by a white driver while participating in a George Floyd march has died. According to KGET, 55-year-old Robert Forbes died on Saturday after being hit three days earlier in Bakersfield, California. 

Video of the incident caused outrage after it was posted online. However, witnesses and officers still have different accounts of what happened. 

“When we got to Oak and California, everybody was marching. (Forbes) went to the sidewalk and got on his knees,” witness Jay G told KGET. “Next thing you know, we all hear a car, and we all look, it’s a car with its lights off that hits him.”

Bakersfield Police Sgt. Nathan McCauley gave a different account. 

“(Forbes) was in the roadway at the time he was struck," the sergeant said. "To address for the rumors, the driver’s headlights are clearly on.”

Forbes’ sister, Espinola Parker, also spoke out.

“I think the driver hitting him was intentional,” she said.

The driver, Kieth Moore, went to Facebook to admit that he ran over Forbes but said it wasn't intentional. The post has now been deleted, according to KBAK.

"I will take this time to [whole] heartedly tell the family of Robert Forbes that I did not and would not ever run into or hit anyone with my car," Moore wrote. "I prayed for the man and I know our paths have crossed for a reason. I'm not sure why but they did and I'm looking for the positive in this. I [haven't] found it yet." 

Moore wasn't driving above the speed limit when the collision happened, and he wasn't under the influence of drugs or alcohol, KGET reported. Police released footage of the incident, which shows protesters running for safety around the 2:56 mark of the video after the collision happened. 


One Twitter user gave his account of what happened during the protest.

"This man ran over a black protester and the police would not put him in hand cuffs and let him stand around and smoke a cigarette and protected him," the person said. "The man he hit is #RobertForbes." 

Parker was also disturbed by the sight of the man smoking a cigarette after hitting her brother.  

"I hope an arrest comes because this guy is smirking while he’s smoking his cigarette, not realizing he killed a man here that somebody loved, somebody cared for, somebody’s son,” she said. 

Jay said Moore had already admitted to the police that he ran over Forbes.

“It shouldn’t take that long to get a man who just admitted in front of everybody, even to the cops, ‘I did it. I hit this man. I didn’t see him. Accident or not, I hit him,’" Jay said. "So why wasn’t he detained? Why was he able to smoke a cigarette?”

McCauley said detaining people after traffic collisions isn't part of the department's protocol. 

“It’s not a practice of the biggest police department, or any law-enforcement agency that I’m aware of, to handcuff and put people in patrol cars that are involved in traffic collisions,” the sergeant said.

Bakersfield, CaliforniaGeorge-Floyd-protestsRobert Forbes