Stolen Car Chase Ends in Crash in NE DC

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Police in the District say officers from Prince George's County were chasing a suspicious car when it crossed into D.C. on Monday, slamming into a van and flipping it onto a sidewalk.

It happened at 22nd Street NE and Kearney Street in Northeast Washington around 4 p.m.

Investigators say a Cottage City police officer was in pursuit of a car that was believed to have been stolen that the officer spotted in Cottage City, Maryland near Bladensburg Road, which is a small unincorporated town within the county just across the border from D.C.

Police say the chase started at a gas station on Bladensburg Road in Cottage City, where the officer saw the suspicious car and tried to pull it over. That's when the suspect's car rammed the officer's car, and then sped down the road, crossing into the District with the Cottage City officer following close behind.

The car went into Northeast D.C., where the chase ended when the suspect's car crashed into a white van in the middle of the intersection at 22nd Street NE and Kearney Street NE.

The force was so strong that the van flipped over, and the Alexandria electrician, Daryl Jones, who was behind the wheel had to be taken to the hospital.

Jones' father was at the scene after the crash assessing the damage. He just happens to be a retired D.C. homicide detective, and he says his own experience tells him there's no excuse for a high-speed chase through a residential neighborhood.

"I'm just flabbergasted that Cottage City would initiate a chase like that. I'm just astounded," said Donny Randall, Jones' father.

He says the outcome could have been much worse if his 5-year-old granddaughter Nyla was riding in the van, as she often is.

Clarence Cherry, the PTA president of the nearby elementary school, lives just a few houses away from the collision.

"I think even in a situation where the officer's car was struck, you still have to take precautions," said Cherry, who added that pursuing the perpetrator means putting children at risk.

Jones is expected to be okay. The three men in the other vehicle took off on foot and got away.

Cottage City Police say the officer acted within department policy because he was assaulted.   In the end, it was discovered that while the car wasn't stolen, the tags on it were.