Two men were killed when a truck ran into a firework stand in Washington, DC, on Saturday, and officials are still investigating.
The incident occurred outside a gas station at the corner of Minnesota Avenue NE and Nannie Helen Burroughs Avenue NE that evening, WUSA 9 reported.
The truck driver was reportedly experiencing a medical emergency moments before hitting a cyclist, then a nearby firework stand. The cyclist and the person working behind the stand died following the incident.
The D.C. Police Department said on social media that officials were headed to the scene to establish a media briefing area:
In a subsequent post, the department shared a photo of the crash site showing what appeared to be fireworks, a gas station sign, and other debris scattered on the grass and pavement:
Assistant Chief Manlapaz said the incident happened at approximately 5:30 p.m.
“There was a truck traveling northbound on Minnesota Avenue. It appears it ran the red light, struck a bicyclist in the crosswalk. After he struck the bicyclist, the car careened off into a fireworks stand that’s right here at the corner of Nannie Helen Burroughs and Minnesota Avenue,” he explained.
According to Manlapaz, the driver and a passenger were taken to a local hospital. No one else was injured during the incident.
Authorities said they did not believe any fireworks went off at the time of the crash, Fox 5 reported Sunday.
Meanwhile, a neighbor told the outlet he could not believe what happened, saying, “My sister told me she was down here with her husband and a dude had got into a bad accident and she said she seen his head on the ground,” Mercellus Thomas recalled.
“This terrible like a lot of stuff happens in this city and like people need to start being more safe and cherish they time, like life is short,” Thomas added.