WASHINGTON, D.C. – A terrifying car theft in Washington, D.C. ended tragically when an elderly woman died following a crash involving the stolen car she was in. The woman was a passenger in a vehicle stolen from the Washington Hospital Center on Monday afternoon, according to local law enforcement.
The woman had been left in the car outside the hospital when the driver, reported to be her relative, exited the vehicle. It was at this time the unidentified suspect jumped in and took off with the vehicle, leaving the elderly woman behind in the front passenger seat.
Not long after, a patrolling officer witnessed the stolen vehicle plowing into a building at the intersection of Sixth and D streets, near the D.C. U.S. Attorney’s Office downtown. In the aftermath of the crash, the female suspect tried to flee, but the officer quickly detained and arrested her.
The elderly woman was discovered unconscious inside the crashed vehicle. Emergency personnel transported her from the scene in a critical condition, but she was later pronounced dead.
Investigators confirmed that the vehicle involved in the crash was the same one reported taken from the hospital. Consultation with the U.S. Attorney’s Office is under way regarding potential charges against the suspect, whose identity, along with the victims’, remains withheld.
The crash damaged the building’s exterior only superficially, as noted by the D.C. Fire Department. The case is still under investigation.