One pedestrian has been killed and another injured after they were struck in D.C. by a driver fleeing the U.S. Secret Service on Friday.
It happened near 14th Street and New York Avenue in Northwest near the White House.
U.S. Secret Service spokesman Paul Mayhair said in a news conference later Friday night that officers approached a car with suspicious tags.
“The suspect fled at a high rate of speed; and as he went through the intersection, he struck a vehicle and then he struck two pedestrians,” Mayhair said.
Vito Maggiolo, a spokesman with D.C: Fire and EMS, said the two pedestrians, both women, were in what he described as critical condition immediately following the crash.
One witness told WTOP’s Kyle Cooper, who reported from the scene, that the driver jumped out of the car, went over to the sidewalk and drank something in a plastic bottle. The witness also said that the driver, who had been arrested, struck other vehicles and pushed them out of the way as he fled.
The crash and the investigation closed New York Avenue near the White House in both directions.
The WTOP Traffic Center said it was a “big tie up” in the area, and the closure also affected traffic on H Street Northwest.
D.C. police said the delays ended shortly before midnight.
Below is the area where it happened.
WTOP’s Veronica Canales and Kyle Cooper, who reported from Northwest D.C., contributed to this report.
