NEWS · 5

Wrecked car on the 2800 block of M Street NW. Photo by Peggy Sands.

Bizarre Crash on M St. Injures 3

BY PEGGY SANDS

At least three people were reported injured — one critically — on M and 29th Streets NW in Georgetown after being reportedly struck by a car July 22.

“What could have been just a single car fender bender turned into a really bizarre series of collisions by a car that had turned sharp east onto M Street from 29th Street, crashed into a parked vehicle at the corner, and then made at least two 360-degree turns, smashing into parked vehicles and finally crossing the street and smashing into a tree in front of the CVS pharmacy,” said the owner of Say Cheese, Suzy Nabil at 1132 29th St. NW, who witnessed the entire incident.

“I will never forget the screams that followed and then seeing a person tossed into the air,” Nabil told the Georgetowner. “As people were running to help the pedestrians, I saw a woman get out of the first smashed car and frantically try to open the back door. When she got it open, she dragged out a baby from a car seat. The baby seemed O.K., but I was in total shock.”

What seems so strange to Nabil was that the colliding vehicle seemed to be controlled by the driver making the 360-degree turns. It didn’t seem like an accident to her. But then again, she said, the driver didn’t seem to be aware enough to just stop the car.

The Metropolitan Police Department closed the 2800 block of M Street NW for part of the day.

All Georgetown Bus Routes Saved, For Now

BY PEGGY SANDS

The impacts of the Covid pandemic have been felt in almost every sector of the District’s economy and social life this past year, and none more so than public transportation. Since the District shutdown in March 2020, ridership on public transport fell more than fifty percent, and consequently so did service. In budget discussions this Spring, D.C. transit officials announced that due to lack of funds and ridership, they were proposing cutting back or ending Metro bus routes across the District including almost all of those that serve Georgetown and the popular D1, D2, D6 and G2 routes.

Now it seems -- thanks almost entirely to federal COVID relief funds -- all of the Metro bus routes will not only be retained but also expanded with lower waiting times and more services.

“I am thrilled that WMATA’s latest budget reflects the need to sustain bus routes and service levels through Georgetown including the D1, D6, and G2 routes,” Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto wrote The Georgetowner on Aug. 13. “The bus routes that service our city and connect residents, students, and workers through Georgetown are vitally important to ensuring affordable, efficient, and environmentally sustainable transit options. During the pandemic, ridership has been affected and we have made the case to WMATA that current demand should not drive decisions for service lines as we must continue to expand options for residents. We will continue to ask WMATA to ensure our bus and rail options are sustained and expanded.”

The city budget that passed the City Council’s second vote on August 11 supported lower fares and more frequent service on the Metro underground system as well. Trains will operate every six minutes on the Red Line and every 12 minutes on other lines and service will expand to 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays beginning in September. However, free service of the circulator bus’s six routes will continue only until Sept. 30.