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Photo of the Day: November 9, 2009
At approximately 12:20 a.m. on Saturday morning, a taxi driver lost control of his vehicle and crashed into Solly's Tavern at 11th and U Streets NW, injuring at least six people.
"The building shook," said bartender Chris Frashier bar owner John "Solly" Solomon, who was upstairs when the cab collided with the east side of the building. "The tires were spinning because the driver's foot was still on the pedal, and it kicked up smoke into the bar."
Although it was not immediately clear to patrons inside the bar what had happened following the incident, eyewitnesses and bar-goers described the evacuation as orderly. According to emergency medical services personnel on the scene, six people were transported to area hospitals. Complete information about the nature of the injuries sustained was not available. EMS personnel said that there were no life-threatening injuries. Metropolitan Police Department officials declined to perform a major crash investigation, which would be necessary if injuries had proven more serious.
"Everyone sitting in the window [where the cab hit the building] was pushed toward the bar," said another Solly's bartender. Other patrons sustained cuts, scrapes, and bruises, he said.
Police and EMS personnel near Solly's could not confirm the cause of the accident. Several eyewitnesses, including one bar staffer, said that the driver appeared to be experiencing seizure-like physical symptoms in the driver's seat immediately after the accident. A taxi driver on the scene who did not wish to be named said that he knew the driver to be named Affi and said that he has a history with seizures, including one incident behind the wheel.
Police blocked off traffic for two hours after the accident and planned to keep a car outside the building until the morning.
CORRECTION: DCist misidentified Solly's bartender Chris Frashier in its original reporting on this story. The story has been changed to attribute Mr. Frashier's quote correctly to him.
Photo used with permission from BecksAtFlickr
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when you get a chance, please let us know how long mr. solomon thinks it'll take to get his establishment reopened.
glad to hear (at least preliminarily) that everyone should be OK.
maybe it's time to have a discussion regarding seizure-prone individuals and driver's licenses. i had a roommate who had occasional episodes, and his doctor forbade him from driving for an extended period of time...
I know that to our North in PA, one's license is suspended for 6 months after reported seizure or stroke. This however depends on reporting seizures to one's doctor.
I'm also glad that it appears that nobody was seriously injured. However, I think the MPD may want to take another look at its "major crash investigation" policy. Even if injuries appeared to be minor, it seems like a car slamming into the side of a building would warrant such an investigation. This is especially true if it turns out that a person's injuries are more serious than previously known.
As for the driver's licenses, there are already laws that mandate license suspensions for seizure-prone individuals. People I know who have had regular seizures are extremely careful not to put their own life (and the lives of others) in danger by operating a car. This appears to be an incident where the driver, if it's true that he does have a recent history of seizures, obviously violated the law. He could even be charged with negligence
However, I do not believe it's fair to single out people with seizure disorder with additional special licensing laws. It's not wise policy for the state to come in and say "if you have had a seizure, you're banned from driving for three years." That just simply doesn't make sense as each individual's situation is different. I think such decisions about who is physically able to drive should be left to physicians, as it is now. To me, if we mandate stronger restrictions on people with seizures, we'd have to apply the same restrictions to those people who have had (or are likely to have) a heart attack or stroke, since the practical effect while driving is the same. I'm pretty sure most people who have any type of heart condition or those who take cholesterol-lowering medication would be likely to support such a measure. On the other hand, such a law would seriously reduce traffic...
I'm pretty sure most jurisdictions allow people with conditions like epilepsy to drive, so long as the condition is treated with medication. But if the condition is the result of brain trauma/damage where the seizure cannot be controlled, you can't drive. I worked with a pizza driver who had epilepsy and who was under medical supervision. The state of MD allowed him to drive, but the pizza company we worked for didn't (it spelled it out in their job application). He sued to get his job back, but the company made the case that he lied on his job application.
In the case of the cab driver, I already hear the lawyers climbing all over this case. Because you know the cab company is going to get their asses sued. I don't mind that so much as the inevitable Jim Graham legislation to ban cabs from driving into bars, and suspending liquor licenses of bars that allow cabs to drive into them.
Man! It seems like in the past 10 years cars have been ramming buildings on a daily basis. There should be a building ramming tax.
Seems to be of epidemic proportions around these parts (LeDroit, U St, Shaw). Last summer some numbnuts took out the LeDroit Park "arch" on Florida, literally right in front of a rowhouse that was similarly destroyed by a wayward vehicle.
florida avenue (and, by extension, u street) seem to be a favorite of the speeding set. don't know why...
Yeah, I was in the bar that night. My friend and his friends were the ones that had to go to the hospital. The cab slid up to my left leg, but I was unhurt. I ran out to the cab after it happened and after seeing no one was in the back seat, but a cell phone that I picked up and later texted/called, opened the front door and saw the driver convulsing back and forth against the steering wheel. After holding him steady for a little while, some arlington firefighters that just happened to be in the area took over and held him steady til the paramedics arrived.