WASHINGTON D.C., DC — A hit-and-rush crash in Northwest D.C. has neighbors demanding changes on a busy intersection that has been the scene of several safety issues.
Surveillance video shows the moment when a green truck making a left turn onto Rock Creek Church Road Northwest from Varnum Street Northwest struck a father and son on a moped Monday morning.
"I notice a child and an adult, that were laying on the ground," said Stephanie Lawrence, a neighbor who is seen in the footage asking the victims if they are okay as the driver flees the area.
Another driver who witnessed the crash chased the green truck and managed to get a photograph of the license plates according to Lawrence who told WUSA9, "I am actually pretty infuriated, infuriated at the events that occurred the other day."
Neighbors say the victims were not injured but this incident has brought to light the safety issues at the intersection.
WUSA9 was on the scene at the same intersection on Sept. 4 when a MetroAccess car struck parked cars and tipped onto its side.
The crash happened just before 8 a.m. on Rock Creek Church Road Northwest and Varnum Street Northwest, according to Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA). A spokesperson said the car struck two parked cars in the area before tipping on its side. One customer was on board at the time. Both the driver of the car and the passenger were taken to the hospital for injuries sustained in the crash, WMATA said.
"Does someone have to die in order for someone to come and help us out," says Lawrence whose car was one of the vehicles damaged by the September crash.
Improving the intersection has been a long battle for ANC Commissioner Jonah Goodman who says he has been requesting that the D.C. Department of Transportation make changes like installing a crosswalk on Rock Creek Church Road for pedestrians to get to a bus stop along the busy street.
"We have asked for an all-way stop controlled stop here, a three-way stop so we can have traffic control," says Goodman who has been on the issue since 2017.
Goodman says the neighborhood is willing to consider all kinds of safety measures like speed bumps, and signage warning drivers about the dangers of the intersection.
"Neighbors all up this way just want a safer intersection. They hear the cars screeching to a halt. They hear the crashes. They hear the cars crashing into the wall on a regular basis. They just want a safe block they can live on."
WUSA9 reached out to the Department of Transportation for comment on these issues but has yet to hear back from the agency.
A driver and passenger are in the hospital after a MetroAccess car struck parked cars and tipped onto its side Saturday morning.