City Desk » DC Fire and EMS

Building Collapse, Gas Leak on Morgan Street [UPDATED]

Rend Smith — Fri, 07 May 2010 15:22:02 +0000

A rowhouse being renovated at 216 Morgan Street NW has partially collapsed, D.C. Fire and EMS spokesperson Pete Piringer tells City Desk. "There are no reported injuries," he says.

But that's not all. Piringer says there's also a gas leak in the area. Streets are cordoned off. Canine units have been dispatched to sniff out the leak. Updates as available.

UPDATE, 12:46 p.m.: Five contractors working inside the red brick rowhouse were not injured when the second floor collapsed, Piringer says. The second floor of an adjacent yellow brick rowhouse at 218 Morgan Street NW also collapsed but no one was home at the time, he adds. The gas at both properties has been turned off to prevent further leakage.

Photo by Rend Smith

Motorist Mom Mows Down Cyclist Son

Rend Smith — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 17:35:00 +0000

Details are slowly emerging about a bizarre bicycling collision earlier this week.

On Monday, D.C. Fire and EMS announced via Twitter: "reported cyclist struck – Minn Av & Baline[sic] St NE 2:38 PM Apr 26th."

Contacted by City Desk that day, spokesperson Pete Piringer thought the tweet was mistaken. A cyclist hadn't been hit by a car, Piringer had heard, a pedestrian had been hit by a bike. Piringer also said he believed police had been called in to "sort it out" between pedaler and walker.

Though we asked police for details regarding the incident, cops had a hard time finding a report relating to the crash. This morning, however, police spokesperson Gwendolyn Crump let us know that police had located the info and that a cyclist had been hit by a car, after all.

It wasn't an accident, however. The facts of the bike-crumpling are startling: A mom allegedly plowed into her son on purpose.

Crump emails:

"This was a domestic dispute between mother and son. It occurred at the gas station on Minnesota Ave. The mom was driving a Saturn and apparently intentionally hit her son, while he was on a bicycle. The son got off the bike and threw it on the car causing damage to the vehicle. When the police arrived the son ran off from the location. This case is being investigated by Sixth District Detectives."

Crump says there have been no arrests so far.

Bug Bomb Blows Out Windows in Anacostia

Jule Banville — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 17:04:48 +0000

A man living in an apartment at 1907 Good Hope Road SE set up a bug bomb early this a.m. that blew out his windows.

Alan Etter, spokesperson for D.C. Fire and EMS, writes in an e-mail: "There was no fire. Just a pressure-release explosion from using too much of the product."

The man received a "minor burn, but that's about it."

WJLA has photos from a guy who lived in the building. Looks like the explosion happened on the second floor of a four-floor complex.