At approximately 11:45 last night, Friday, March 23, 2007, a 2006 Ford Mustang was reportedly being operated at a high rate of speed east bound on Pennsylvania Avenue, SE. The driver of the vehicle apparently lost control and entered the west bound lane of the 3300 block of Pennsylvania Avenue, SE. The Mustang struck a 1991 Toyota Camry and a 2003 Mercury Marquis taxi cab that were traveling west on Pennsylvania Avenue, SE. The Mustang mounted the taxi cab and caught on fire in turn causing the cab to catch on fire. The driver of the Mustang is identified as 33-year-old Jermard Rogers of the 4300 block of Livingston Road, SE.  The passenger of the Mustang is identified as a 39-year-old male with no fixed address.  His name is being withheld pending the notification of his next of kin.  The driver of the Toyota is identified as 44-year-old Richard B. Watts of the 5900 block of 6th Street, NE.  DC Fire Department emergency medical personnel responded to the scene but found no signs consistent with life in these three men.  They were taken to the Office of the DC Medical Examiner and pronounced dead. The driver of the taxicab is identified as 57-year-old John D. Tivade of the 9600 block of Cottrell Terrace in Silver Spring, Maryland.  He was taken to the Washington Hospital Center’s MedStar Unit and admitted in critical condition.

The case is under investigation by members of the department’s Major Crash Investigations Unit.

Update, 3/26/07
The next of kin of the passenger in the Mustang has been notified. He has been identified as 39-year-old Eddie Short of no fixed address.