WASHINGTON (AP) - A woman plowed her car through a crowded street festival Saturday night, injuring about 35 people, including two police officers who drove their motor scooters into her path attempting to stop her, authorities said.
Police said seven of the victims, including two children under age 3, suffered major injuries.
Officers caught up with the driver, whom they identified as Tonya Bell, 30, of Oxon Hill, Md., near the site of the festival in the city's Anacostia neighborhood. She was arrested and charged with aggravated assault while armed. The "armed" part of the charge refers to the car. District of Columbia Police Chief Cathy L. Lanier said additional charges are pending.
Police said Bell had a 7-year-old child in the car with her.
They were conducting blood tests that would show whether alcohol or drugs were involved.
"We're still trying to piece together exactly just what happened that led up to this," Lanier said at the scene.
She said a vehicle believed to be Bell's was driving erratically and struck a police car and fled the scene about a half-hour before the crash at the festival, which occurred at about 8 p.m.
Alan Etter, a spokesman for the District of Columbia fire department, said authorities believe Bell was going about 70 mph when she came through the festival.
This reminds me of the Santa Monica farmer's market crash from a few years ago when an 80+ year old man ran his car through the market killing 10 people and injuring many others. Most think age was a factor in that accident, but the driver in D.C. was only 30, which strongly suggests that she was impaired when it happened. Test results aren't in yet. Whether she was on something or not, she's got a long confinement ahead of her, and her victims a long recovery.
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