At approximately 9:30 pm on Tuesday, May 6, 2008, a 2002 GMC Yukon being operated by 38-year-old Bernell Rayflaunice Sumpter, of the 200 block of Oakwood Street, SE, was traveling southbound on Anacostia Avenue, NE when his vehicle struck the concrete bridge abutment located at the intersection of Anacostia Avenue and East Capitol Street, NE.

He was taken to the Washington Hospital Center’s MedStar Unit and pronounced dead.

The accident is currently under investigation by members of the department’s Major Crash Investigations Unit. A preliminary investigation reveals that speed may have been a contributing factor in this fatality. However, the investigation is ongoing.