WASHINGTON — Police are working to figure out what led a car a crash into a barricade near the U.S. Capitol early Thursday. Officers responded to the report of a crash near the Longworth House Building on South Capitol Street and D Street around 8:30 a.m.
A spokesperson for U.S. Capitol Police said the investigation is still in its early stages. One person has been has been taken into custody with minor injuries following the crash. The driver has been identified as 28-year-old Kevin Simon.
According to US Capitol Police investigators, at about 7:45 a.m., a vehicle was driving northbound on I-395 when it exited Washington Avenue SW. Police say Simon was speeding when he hit two other cars and kept driving. The vehicle crossed the intersection and continued along D Street SW, until it turned left and hit the barricade at South Capitol and D Street Southeast, according to police.
Simon faces charges of reckless driving, resisting arrest and two counts of leaving after colliding.
Simon was taken to an area hospital for evaluation after acting delirious and combative.
This is the most recent incident of a car crashing into a barricade near the Capitol building. Last year, a man died by suicide after crashing his car into a barricade near the U.S. Capitol Building, firing several shots and then turning the gun on himself, U.S. Capitol Police said.
Capitol Police released the identity of the man as 29-year-old Richard A. York III of Delaware.
In 2021, a driver rammed his car into two Capitol Police officers, killing Officer William “Billy” Evans, an 18-year veteran who was a member of the department's first responders unit.