3 dead, 2 injured after two-vehicle crash on Rock Creek Parkway

The scene of a deadly crash on the Rock Creek Parkway on March 15, 2023. (WTOP/Kyle Cooper)
The crash happened around 1:45 a.m. in the area of P Street Northwest. (WTOP/Kyle Cooper)
rock creek parkway crash
Three people are dead and two others hurt after the crash. (WTOP/Kyle Cooper)
U.S. Park Police said they pulled over one of the vehicles involved in the crash before it happened but that officer didn’t pursue the vehicle when it fled. (WTOP/Kyle Cooper)
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rock creek parkway crash
Police had pulled over one of the vehicle's involved before the crash, WTOP's Kyle Cooper reports from the scene.

Three people are dead and two others were hurt after a driver fled a traffic stop and crashed into another vehicle on Rock Creek Parkway in Northwest D.C.

It happened around 1:45 a.m. in the area of P Street Northwest, according to U.S. Park Police, and traffic is being diverted off the parkway as police investigate.



The driver of a Lexus SUV fled after being pulled over by U.S. Park Police and then crashed into a Honda Accord, killing three men in the Accord, according to police spokesperson Thomas Twiname. A woman in the Lexus suffered life-threatening injuries and a man suffered non-life threatening injuries and is expected to survive, WTOP’s Kyle Cooper reported from the Rock Creek Parkway near the crash.

According to the D.C. Department of Motor Vehicles, the car that crashed while fleeing the traffic stop had 44 unpaid speed camera tickets, totaling $12,300. Of the unpaid tickets, 28 are listed for speeding and one is for running a red light. This year alone, the driver racked up nine speeding tickets, with the most recent being from two weeks ago.

Twiname said that vehicle is under investigation as well as the crash itself.

Just before 6:30 a.m. police altered the closures points on the parkway. All road closures were lifted around 11:30 a.m.

Police want anyone with information about what happened to contact the department’s tip line by emailing uspp_tipeline@nps.gov.

WTOP’s Kyle Cooper and Dick Uliano contributed to this report.

WTOP's Dick Uliano gives us the latest on the Lexus SUV that crashed, killing 3

Jessica Kronzer

Jessica Kronzer graduated from James Madison University in May 2021 after studying media and politics. She enjoys covering politics, advocacy and compelling human-interest stories.

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