The agency overseeing D.C.’s 911 dispatch system said it intends to look back at the response to the deadly car crash into the Anacostia River last week.
Three people were found dead after the late-night crash into the water beneath the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge last Thursday.
The examination comes after first responders were delayed in getting to the site of the crash.
According to recordings on a radio dispatch website, there were several minutes between the first dispatch, which sent first responders to the 11th Street Bridge, and emergency crews discovering the person who called 911 was near the Douglass Bridge.
“Calling party states they were at Anacostia Park and saw the vehicle go off Anacostia bridge,” a voice on one radio dispatch from OpenMHZ.com can be heard saying seven minutes after the initial dispatch around 10:31 p.m.
The Office of Unified Communications said it will meet on Wednesday with public safety partners to better understand that night’s events.
“Following the meeting, an after-action report will be produced that will detail the events of the incident, the agency’s response, and any steps the agency will take to improve our future emergency response,” Anna Noakes, a spokeswoman with OUC, said.
According to D.C. police, it is believed the car was going at a high rate of speed in a grassy area between Anacostia Drive and Anacostia River before entering the water.
Safety advocate and reporter Dave Statter initially reported news of first responders being sent to the wrong bridge.
Inside the car was driver Artareihk Knight, 45, of Clinton, Maryland; passenger Tim Juan Mundell, 46, of Southeast D.C. and a third person, whose name police have not yet released.
