Investigators assigned to the Metropolitan Police Department’s Major Crash Investigations Unit are investigating a fatal traffic accident which occurred Saturday, June 7, 2008 at the intersection of Underwood Street and Piney Branch Road NW.

Shortly after 9 pm on Saturday, the driver of a 2008 Cadillac CTS exited the Safeway parking lot at Georgia Avenue and Piney Branch Road, NW. While traveling eastbound in the 900 block of Underwood Street NW, the vehicle reportedly struck the curb and left the roadway. The vehicle struck a fixed object and subsequently overturned before coming to a rest at the intersection of Underwood Street and Piney Branch Road, NW. The front seat passenger in the vehicle, who appeared to be unrestrained, was partially ejected as a result of this accident. The passenger and the driver were both extricated from the vehicle by DC Fire Department personnel and transported to a local hospital where the passenger was pronounced dead at 9:59 pm.

The decedent in this case has been identified as 89-year-old Shirley O’Donnell Brown (male) of Hyattsville, Maryland.

The driver of the Cadillac, a 92-year-old woman of NW, Washington, was admitted in stable condition. 

A preliminary investigation into this case reveals that this accident does not appear to have been alcohol related. At this time no charges have been filed in this case as the circumstances surrounding this accident remain under investigation by members from the department’s Major Crash Investigations Unit.