Results tagged “accident”

Perhaps you caught this WUSA9 story about a large tree smashing into a house in Falls Church on Wednesday. Turns out, the house is owned by the parents of former DCist Food & Drink Editor Eddie Kim, who was the only person there at the time of the incident. Eddie only recently returned from a graduate studies program in Sweden, and has been staying with his parents while he looks for a job and an apartment.

WAMU's Diane Rehm wasn't behind the microphone for her regular 2-hour Friday slot of The Diane Rehm Show today, because she was reportedly injured in one of those bizarre accidents that seem like only happen on TV sitcoms. Filling in for the host, Susan Page of USA Today reported that Rehm was running across the street on Thursday when her heel got caught in the leg of her pants. As a result, Rehm tripped, and she managed to break her pelvis during the fall. Talk about bad luck. She'll now be out for at least a few weeks while she recuperates. We wish her a speedy recovery.

An unidentified passenger accidentally fell onto the tracks at Takoma Metro station just before 10 a.m. this morning, Metro spokesperson Steven Taubenkibel said. According to Metro, the passenger got up off the tracks and walked away, and did not receive medical attention as far as WMATA knows. WJLA has been reporting that the incident caused the station to close 15 minutes earlier than had been originally planned, but Taubenkibel says the fall happened at 9:57 a.m., making the scenario WJLA is reporting impossible. Metro says the station closed at 10 a.m., as planned.

Earlier this morning WMATA put out an alert that customers should expect delays in both directions on the Green Line due to a report of an unauthorized person on the track bed at Southern Ave. Now the Examiner reports that the person was actually a man in a wheelchair who had fallen onto the tracks. It's not totally clear how the man fell, but he reportedly sustained head injuries and has since been transported to a local hospital. It's certainly been a rough week for Metro. Just yesterday, a man died after he jumped in front of a Red Line train at Forest Glen, and that was only two days after Metro reopened the Red Line for the first time last week's crash, which killed nine people.

NBC Washington has a truly ghastly photo of a car impaled by a train crossing gate after it was struck by a Brunswick Line train in Rockville last night. According to the report, 25-year-old Cemile Valencia was stuck on the crossing when the train passed through; despite efforts to force the car in front of her forward, she wasn't able to drive off the tracks in time.

Metro has released the name of the man who was fatally struck by an Orange Line train this weekend. WUSA-9 first reported the news that the victim was Kevin Deiss, 22, of Columbia, Md. Deiss died at the East Falls Church station at around 1:44 a.m. on Sunday. Metro Transit Police are reportedly awaiting toxicology reports on the deceased, and have previously stated they do not believe foul play was involved.

A Metro press release has identified the man who was struck and killed by a Blue Line train yesterday at McPherson Square. Kurtland Johnson, 42, of Washington, DC, reportedly stepped in front of the train around shortly after 1 p.m. yesterday, according to witnesses.

The Baltimore Sun reports that the Washington Ballet Company has canceled the remainder of its Studio Company tour after 20-year-old company dancer Mary Saludares was struck and killed by a car Friday. Saludares was hit on Route 24 in Harford County, Md. at about 10 p.m., according to local police, and died early Saturday. The Filipina dancer was part of Washington Ballet's Studio Company tour for the 2008-2009 season. Artistic director Septime Webre issued a statement: "She was not only a beautiful dancer but a radiant soul who emitted peace and joy. The entire TWB family mourns her passing and extends its thoughts and prayers to Mary's family."

The Examiner's Michael Neibauer came up with an interesting story by talking to MPD officer David Baker. Baker posted a frustrated screed earlier this month on the 2nd District police email list, after yet another person was struck by a car at the intersection of Nebraska and Connecticut Avenues NW. Baker believes that the increase in pedestrian accidents in the area is not only due to drivers not paying attention—the pedestrians themselves are largely to blame, thanks to them being distracted by iPods and cell phones.

An anonymous reader writes in: "Passed a huge accident on Mt. P and Irving on my way home tonight. From what I could tell, a UPS truck had rammed a blue sedan, hard. The left side of the car was completely crushed and a crew was trying to extract whoever was inside as I passed. The two blocks of Irving between 16th and 17th were blocked off, and there were several fire trucks, police cars, and an ambulance on the scene. Cops were asking witnesses what they saw." Keep the possibility of street closures in this area in mind as you make your way home tonight.

We reported this morning that a woman fell on the tracks on the Red Line to Glenmont at the Gallery Place-Chinatown Metro station around 9:30 a.m. DCist has now learned that the woman narrowly avoided being struck by an oncoming train -- largely due to the quick thinking of Houston Transit Authority employee Eliot Swainson, 46, who was in D.C. serving as a volunteer for Metro. Swainson, who was stationed on the Glenmont platform at the Chinatown stop this morning, was able to direct the woman to safety on the track while a train passed overhead, preventing her from being struck and allowing her to be extricated safely a short time later.

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UPDATE: WTOP is now reporting that the man died shortly after arriving at the hospital. Witnesses at the station are saying he intentionally jumped in front of the train.

We've gotten enough emails about this at this point that we can report that a deer was injured in downtown Washington today, somewhere on M Street NW between 16th and 17th Streets, near the National Geographic headquarters. It happened just before 1 p.m.; one witness told us that he saw the deer run into the side of a van at 16th and M, and several others said they saw the animal being tranquilized by animal control medics closer to 17th. We'll update when we get word on how the deer is doing. There are tons of deer in Rock Creek Park, but we can't remember the last time one popped up in the middle of downtown. There does seem to be an extraordinary amount of deer activity on the roads this fall: just this morning NBC4 did a story warning drivers to be extra vigilant about looking out for deer.

Someone fell on the tracks at the Friendship Heights Metro station at around noon. Various reports indicate that the person was struck by the train and that they are unconscious, but so far no more details are available about their condition. You should expect major delays in both directions on the Red line due to this incident, which is being compounded by an earlier switch malfunction outside of Rhode Island Avenue. that's been fixed, but created residual delays also. Check back for updates. 1:55 p.m.: Both Friendship Heights and Rhode Island Ave. Metro stations have been cleared and normal Red line service has resumed. The Examiner reports that the man who fell on the tracks is now conscious.

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A car struck a Metrobus at 16th and U Streets SE, near Good Hope Rd. SE, at 11:50 a.m. this morning, resulting in 16 people reported injured. The Post says the driver of the car ran a red light before it hit the bus. Two people were in the car, and a driver and 13 passengers were on the B2 route bus. All of the injuries appear to be minor.

WTOP is reporting that Joshua Stoll and Michael Feiock, the two men who died in July when their heads hit an overpass while riding on the roof of an Open Top Sightseeing bus shuttling fans to Nationals Park, were legally drunk when they died. Police believe both men were standing on the seats at the time of the crash. Open Top is still operating its regular tour buses in D.C., but its Nationals shuttles have been suspended since the accident.

WTOP reports that the Baltimore-Washington Parkway reopened shortly after 10:30 a.m. The parkway was closed for five hours in both directions after two people were killed early this morning in a major accident involving two pickup trucks, one car and a motorcycle. Two other people were injured in the crash — one was taken to the hospital in stable condition and another was treated at the scene.

    

Thanks to reader Stephanie Pendergrass, who snapped these photos of a tree that fell across K Street NW between 20th and 21st at around 3:15 p.m. Stephanie says the tree landed on a van and an SUV, but she didn't see anyone injured. Probably best to expect delays on any bus lines that travel along K Street, including the Circulator, and to plan alternate driving routes for those of you who commute by car.

You may recall the mysterious death of a 3-year-old girl in Potomac, Md. about a month ago. A mother and two children had been seen walking down the road to a gas station, and then later, turned up at a fire station with the daughter having sustained fatal injuries. The mother had been described as behaving erratically enough that an employee at the gas station where they were seen called police. The Post reports that police have finally determined that the little girl died as the result of an accident. A 16-year-old boy picked the family up to give them a ride back to their vehicle, and accidentally hit her after letting her out of his car. The teen driver didn't know he had hit Jasmine Afolabi and drove off. No charges will be filed.

If you ran in to a lot of backed up traffic downtown early this morning, the Post explains why: D.C. firefighters rescued a construction worker on the ninth floor of an 11-story building at 1999 K Street NW. The worker fractured his right ankle after a fall at about 7:30 a.m., and because the building does not have working elevators, fire crews had to use a construction crane to get the man down to the street and into an ambulance. Police closed 20th Street between K and L streets for about an hour during the rescue operation.

You had to know this was coming. Open Top Sightseeing, the bus company that operates the Nationals shuttle on which two people died on Friday night when their heads hit an overpass, is suspending the service for the time being. Open Top wouldn't talk with reporters for a couple days after the accident, but their lawyer, Jim Rodio, has since spoken to the Associated Press, and this is the first time we've seen an answer to the obvious question: did the two men who died know they needed to stay seated during the entire ride? Rodio says the company instructs passengers seated on the roof of the bus to remain seated during rides. Of course, whether the passengers on this particular bus received those instructions remains to be seen. Police are investigating. Open Top is still operating its regular tour buses in D.C.

On the blocks around Dupont Circle yesterday evening, there were more bikes than usual for a standard evening commute. Their point of convergence was the corner of 20th and R Streets NW, adjacent to the outdoor diners at La Tomate, most of whom looked on in some confusion as the crowd continued to gather at the corner, and members of the press set up microphones at the Washington Area Bicyclist’s Association’s podium. Organizers reminded the growing group to keep the walkways clear for pedestrians as volunteers handed out packets containing a bicycle safety book and a pocket guide to D.C.’s bike laws, the packets adorned with a small white ribbon as a reminder of the reason everyone was there.

You can almost sort of but not really understand the actions of Metro Transit Police Captain Leslie Campbell, who the Post reports is under investigation for failing to report a minor collision he had with a pedestrian outside the Anacostia Metro station last month. Campbell wasn't going very fast and more or less tapped a pedestrian with his car -- the pedestrian wasn't injured and the car was not damaged. When the pedestrian declined medical treatment and walked away, Campbell made the bonehead move of not reporting the incident to his superiors. Now, if this had been not a police officer, just a minor incident between 2 individuals, it's doubtful anyone would have reported it to the police, either. But a uniformed captain struck a pedestrian with his car, and even though no one was hurt, that Campbell decided not to immediately report the accident shows a pretty serious lapse in judgment.

D.C. Police this afternoon identified the cyclist who was killed just north of Dupont Circle as 22-year-old District resident Alice Swanson. Scant other details are available yet about the accident, but WTOP says that at this point, no charges have been filed against the driver.

The AP is reporting that a 22-year-old woman has died after being struck by a garbage truck while riding her bicycle near Dupont Circle this morning. The garbage truck, which was not owned by the city but rather a private company, struck the woman at Connecticut and R Streets NW just before 8:30 a.m. The roadway around the accident site was shut down while officers investigated the scene. The woman has not yet been identified.

     

Our own Andrew Wiseman last night happened upon what was no doubt the beginning of a really terrible morning for several Columbia Heights residents. On 13th Street NW between Clifton and Fairmont, a row of five or more parked cars were smashed up by another car crashing into them. Some had missing wheels, front ends knocked off, crunched fenders, broken bumpers and more. Police had already arrived on the scene by the time Andrew showed up with his camera phone -- check out the destruction left behind.

Consider alternate routes around the Wilson Bridge this evening, as WTOP is reporting a serious motorcycle crash on the Inner Loop of the Beltway near the bridge.