Safer Streets Advocate Murdered by Speeding Driver of Stolen Van on Florida Avenue NE

Photo by Karen Ramsey of the memorial erected near 12th & Florida in memory of murdered cyclist David Salovesh

As most of you will already know, a cyclist was killed Friday morning about 10am near the intersection of 12th & Florida Avenue NE. 54 year old David Salovesh was at a stop light when he was struck. Robert Earl Little Jr. (25 years of age) was headed west on Florida Avenue at a high rate of speed. He was driving a stolen van, and he blew through the red light at 12th & Florida, hit another car, crossed the yellow line into the other lane, and hit Salovesh before striking a tree. Little suffered non-life threatening injuries, but Salovesh was not so lucky. Little has been arrested and charged with Second Degree Murder and Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle. The Washington Post story below quotes an affidavit saying “[p]reliminary calculations provide an estimated range of speed of 60 miles per hour." The speed limit on that stretch of Florida Avenue is 25 miles per hour, but many drivers disregard the posted limit and drive much faster.

David Salovesh, known to many by his Twitter handle @darsal, was a tireless advocate for safer streets and a more cyclist and pedestrian friendly District. More than 100 people gathered for a ghost bike memorial service in honor of Salovesh yesterday. He died on a stretch of Florida Avenue that residents and those who push for safer streets have long called a hazard. I have lived in the 1200  block of Florida Avenue NE since 2003 and I can 100% confirm that the street is dangerous with many drivers routinely far exceeding the speed limit. I still remember the day years ago that two young children (siblings) were killed in the crosswalk by another speeding driver who also chose to run a red light. The history of inaction and failure on Florida Avenue is a long and frustrating one. This 2017 Greater, Greater Washington post provides a little context. The bottom line is that the District has the power to redesign Florida Avenue NE to make it safer. It's imperative that we do so before more blood is unnecessarily spilled.

I know that the person who did this (who is being charged with murder) was breaking the law when he ran over Dave, but the street design contributed to that van being able to reach that speed. How much more blood (including mine) needs to be spilled?

— what would dave do? #wwdd (@girlonabikedc) April 19, 2019

Further coverage:

Dave Salovesh, 1965-2019 – Washington City Paper
Bicycle activist killed on bike in crash with stolen van in the District
Traffic Fatality: Intersection of 12th Street and Florida Avenue, Northeast –Washington Post
Cyclist Killed In Northeast Was A Longtime Bike Advocate Who ‘Lived And Breathed Making The Streets Safer’ – DCist

Photo by Karen Ramsey

The full MPD press release:

(Washington, DC)  – Detectives with the Metropolitan Police Department’s Major Crash Investigations Unit are investigating a traffic fatality that occurred on Friday, April 19, 2019, in the intersection of 12th Street and Florida Avenue, Northeast.

At approximately 10:00 a.m., an automated license plate reader alerted that there was a stolen white van in the area of Benning Road, NE.  Metropolitan Police Department Fifth District officers saw the stolen van near the area of Benning Road and Florida Ave, NE and attempted to stop the vehicle. The driver refused to stop for the officers and fled the area. A short time later, officers from the Fifth District discovered the driver of the stolen van was involved in a traffic crash at the intersection of 12th Street and Florida Avenue, NE. The preliminary investigation into this crash revealed that the driver of the stolen van was speeding, while traveling westbound on Florida Avenue NE. When the driver reached the intersection of 12th Street and Florida Avenue, NE, he failed to stop at the red light and struck a blue Hyundai that was traveling South on 12th Street, NE. The driver of the stolen van then proceeded to travel westbound on Florida Avenue NE, crossing over the double yellow lines, striking an adult male cyclist following the flow of traffic in an eastbound lanes of Florida Avenue NE. The driver of the stolen vehicle then struck a tree. MPD officers arrived on the scene shortly after the traffic crash and placed the driver of the stolen van under arrest.

The driver of the striking vehicle was transported to a local hospital for non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the blue Hyundai did not sustain any injuries. The adult male cyclist showed no signs consistent with life and was pronounced dead on the scene.

The decedent has been identified as 54-year-old David Salovesh, of Northeast, DC.

On Friday, April 19, 2019,  25-year-old Robert Earl Little, Jr, of Northwest, DC was arrested and charged with Second Degree Murder and Unauthorized Use of a Motor Vehicle.