Someone mentioned it in comments, but now we have confirmation. Tonya Bell, the woman who has been charged with aggravated assault after getting high on crack cocaine and driving her car at a high speed into a crowded street festival in Anacostia, hitting 40 people, had been employed by a temporary staffing agency that placed her in a position as a receptionist for former mayor and D.C. council member Marion Barry (D-Ward 8).

A letter released to the press by Barry’s chief of staff, Keith Andrew Perry, shows that Barry’s office has today terminated its contract with NAI Personnel, located at 1725 K Street, N.W. The letter explains that while Bell was “outside of work,” when the incident occurred, Barry’s office will be ending their contract with the employment agency because what happened “indicates that [NAI] may not have properly investigated her background prior to placing her in our office.”

The seriousness of this incident obviously should not be overshadowed by ironic subtext, but it’s sure difficult to completely ignore it. But Barry has done the right thing by terminating his office’s contract with NAI — and it’s not tough to imagine other clients of the company following suit.