Police Week Participant Struck By Car

WASHINGTON - A retired Connecticut policeman, in D.C. for National Police Week activities, was struck and seriously injured by a car, Friday night.

Bill Tinker, 62, was hit by a Chevy SUV while crossing H Street, NW, at New Jersey Avenue. The retired New Haven police Lt. was apparently walking from a Police Week food and beverage area toward the Capitol Hill hotel district when the accident happened around 9:30 p.m.

The impact knocked Tinker out of his shoes, into the car’s windshield, and onto the ground. The unidentified driver stopped and stayed after the impact.

A source familiar with the investigation says the driver was tested for alcohol with a breathalyzer and passed the test. The driver was not cited at the scene, although D.C.’s crash unit is continuing its investigation.

The driver told responding officers that the pedestrian just “walked out” in front of his vehicle.

Family members say Lt. Tinker has suffered from several broken bones, and has been sedated since the accident to allow physicians to evaluate possible head injuries. Physicians have told them the 30-year New Haven policeman is expected to survive.

In recent years, say family members, Tinker has taken a part time job as a campus police officer at Yale University.