Speeding Driver on Florida Ave Takes Out Light Pole, Ghost Bike, Car, & Fence

Photo by Twitter user Blaise (@DC1F525)

Early Saturday morning (about 4:08am) a Chevy Tahoe traveling eastbound at a high rate of speed struck a light pole at 12th and Florida Avenue NE before also hitting a parked car, a no parking sign, a couple of trees, and a metal fence before coming to rest outside the tall townhomes on the corner of 12th & K Street NE. The light pole hit by the driver had a ghost bike attached to it as memorial to cyclist David Salovesh who was killed by a speeding driver of a stolen van who ran a red light (and also hit a car and tree) at the intersection last month.

This photo by Blaise (@DC1F525) shows the resting place of the ghost bike and light pole

Both the ghost bike and the light pole were thrown some distance away (probably around 50 feet) by the impact and landed in the nearby triangle of grass separating a stretch of Florida Avenue from K Street NE. Unsurprisingly, the driver fled the scene. 

You can see the skid marks in this photo taken by Twitter user Blaise (@DC1F525)

A few minutes later an apparently intoxicated, and reportedly belligerent, man appeared at the firehouse down the street and was taken to the hospital for treatment of injuries. I've heard neighbors say this was the driver, but I don't know for sure that that is the case. The Washington Post mentioned the intoxicated man in a story about the crash, but said that "[i]t was not immediately clear if he was connected to the crash" and noted that the man "refused to identify himself." NBC4, which also covered the crash, says MPD indicated they contacted the owner of the Tahoe and he said he did not know who was driving his vehicle.

Google Maps satellite view of the area for context

A photo I shot of the crew replacing the light pole the next morning

Photo by Blaise (@DC1F525)

Photo by Blaise (@DC1F525)

The ghost bike soon after its installation