Man Charged in Deadly Crash in Southeast DC

WASHINGTON - Police say a deadly crash in Southeast Washington was no accident. It was a crime. On Tuesday, authorities charged 34-year-old Ajene Jones with involuntary manslaughter after police say he slammed his van head on into a car with a woman and children. It happened at 36th Place and Alabama Avenue around 7 p.m. Monday.

FOX 5 has also learned that Jones has several outstanding traffic violations in Maryland but none as serious as the manslaughter charge he is now facing.

Witnesses say the van crossed the center line into oncoming traffic colliding with a Toyota Camry at high speed. The Camry flew into the air so high it knocked down the traffic signal. Then the car flipped over several times before landing on the ground. Then the van caught fire.

"I mean this guy was booking. I mean, he hit this car so hard ... into the air like that I know he was passing me at every bit of a hundred speeding down the street," said Kenneth McCrory, who witnessed the crash.

The woman driving the Camry was trapped. Medical units tried to save her but 37-year old Mary Elizabeth Wimbush went into cardiac arrest as they tried to remove her from the mangled metal and died. A two-year-old was also thrown from the car and witnesses pulled out three other children.

"Everybody went running and to see what was wrong. The car was full of children, all the children were terribly injured," said Virginia Robinson, another witness to the crash.

All four children were taken to the hospital with critical head injuries. Robinson said one girl looked like "she was partially scalped." She says one toddler was holding her hand and "every time she tried to move, blood was just gushing out the side of her head."

McCrory says they were worried for the children because the car was smoking. They pulled the kids out, afraid the car would catch fire too.

"The poor kid was in shock. It's a bad situation ... this was horrific," said McCrory.

The van's driver, 34-year-old Ajene Jones and a passenger were pulled from the wreck. The passenger was treated and released. Jones is also expected to be okay.

A search of court records showed Jones has at least four outstanding traffic charges in Prince George's County, including driving on a suspended out-of-state license and driving or attempting to drive under the influence of alcohol.

As for this collision, police won't say how fast the van was going, but fire and rescue officials said based on the damage, it appeared to be a high speed crash. To give you an idea, an officer on the scene said the impact was so hard the license plate from the van was embedded in the car's engine.

Police did not say what the relationship was between the woman and children. It is that image of the children, so badly hurt and so helpless that witnesses will not soon forget.

"I just pray to God that they [the children] survive. I pray that they survive. I've never seen anything and I hope I never see anything like it again," said Robinson.

Although the children were taken to the hospital in critical condition, police say all four are expected to survive.