A car crash in Southeast on Sunday killed a pedestrian and injured five others, including two juveniles. A 21-year-old Southeast D.C. resident has been charged with second-degree murder in the incident.
The pedestrian, identified as Abdul Seck, a 31 year old from the Bronx, was walking in the 2100 block of 16th Street Southeast at the time he was hit, per police.
His death comes two days after Dave Salovesh, a 54-year-old D.C. bike advocate was struck and killed, allegedly by the driver of a stolen van in Trinidad Friday morning.
These recent fatalities have prompted activists to plan a rally and vigil on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at V Street and 16th Street Southeast—the site of Seck’s death—to call for the implementation of Vision Zero, a program to eliminate pedestrian deaths, throughout the city.
“Ward 8 is especially devoid of safe roadways,” Ronald Thompson, a transportation advocate in Ward 8, told FOX 5. “We need the same transportation investments that they get west of the Anacostia, because people are dying, people are getting injured, and there is something that we can do. It’s as simple as a four-way stop and painting these crosswalks so that people can see them, and getting speed bumps for a school that’s right up the street.”
Around 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dejuan Andre Marshall of Southeast D.C. was driving a 2012 Chevrolet Cruz at a high speed eastbound in the 1400 and 1500 blocks of V Street Southeast, police said. Marshall allegedly drove through the intersection of 16th and V Street Southeast, crashing into a 2014 Chevrolet Malibu. The collision redirected the Malibu, which then hit Seck as he was walked on 16th Street Southeast, police said.
Video surveillance of the crash shows that Marshall hit the white Chevrolet Malibu after he ran two stop signs—one at 15th and V Streets SE and the other at 16th and V Streets SE, according court documents. The collision sent the Malibu flying, hitting Seck and a nearby retaining wall before coming to rest on its side, per court records, which said that Marshall originally walked away from the crash, but later returned. Marshall told police he had stopped at both stop signs, per court documents.
Marshall, the driver of the Malibu and its three passengers, and Seck were all treated for injuries. Seck, who had sustained massive body trauma, was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital after all life-saving efforts failed, police said. An additional male victim was transported in critical condition, while two male juvenilles were taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, and two other adults appear to have non-life threatening injuries, according to D.C. Fire and EMS.
Police subsequently arrested Marshall.
This story has been updated with information from court documents and to reflect that the vigil is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
