At about 9 a.m. on Wednesday, a car veered into two parked cars at 4800 Wisconsin Avenue and crashed into the GDS-owned building. The driver was not a member of the GDS community, and no one was harmed in the accident. Chief of Staff Lauren Dickert said that because GDS owns the building’s parking lot, the two parked cars—which were significantly damaged—are “presumably vehicles of GDS employees.”
At 10:32 a.m., Head of School Tori Jueds sent an email to GDS students, faculty and parents notifying them of the crash.
“There were no injuries or damage to the Lower/Middle School or High School buildings,” Jueds’ email read. “Local police and fire department units responded promptly to investigate the incident and have cleared the scene. Traffic has returned to normal.”
Apart from the two parked cars, the driver also crashed through the wall of the vacant building’s garage. According to Dickert, the building sustained no structural damage.
“I was sitting in one of the third-floor Spanish classrooms looking down onto the LMS, and I heard a screech,” senior Julian Shishkin said. The car “was going really, really fast, and it sped through the intersection [of Davenport and 42nd Street].” Shishkin said the car drove up from the GDS roundabout.
“My understanding is that he [the driver who crashed] was lost,” Tim Lyons, director of operations and innovation, said. Lyons said the driver was “trying to get back to Wisconsin [Avenue] and just lost control of his car.”
At about 12:30 p.m., a truck towed the crashed car. The wall of the building was fully patched up with plywood by 5:15 p.m.
Lyons said the school was letting the Metropolitan Police Department and the District of Columbia Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department manage the scene.
Police officers at the scene declined to speak on the record because they were not authorized to speak to the press.
According to Lyons, Director of Security Shelley Harris and other GDS security guards stayed at the scene to ensure the community stayed clear of the crash site.
This is a developing story. Check back later for more updates.