WASHINGTON — A man is dead after being hit by a car in Southeast D.C. late Monday night, according to the Metropolitan Police Department.
MPD officers were called to the area of Wheeler Road at Barnaby Street Southeast for a report of a pedestrian struck around 11 p.m. A man was pronounced dead at the scene.
The victim has not yet been identified by police. Additional details about the circumstances surrounding the crash have not been released.
This is the 16th fatal pedestrian accident in the District in 2021. It comes just hours after city officials announced plans increase police presence to cut down on pedestrian-involved crashes.
MPD officers are being directed to step up traffic enforcement around schools, in the wake of a spike in pedestrian deaths in 2021, including two children killed and several others struck by vehicles.
D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said she believes the pandemic has affected driving habits for the worse.
"There weren't a lot of cars on the road for some period of time and now people are driving so much faster," Bowser said Monday. "Stop speeding! Stop running stop signs!"
MPD police data shows the total number of pedestrian deaths in 2020 was 13.