Community members and advocates gathered for a vigil last Thursday in memory of the two individuals struck and killed by a car earlier this month. The tragedy occurred on July 10 in James Monroe Park when the driver of an SUV barreled into the two men as they were sitting on a park bench. Additional details remain unclear. The park sits near the intersection of 21st Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, an area in which community advocates and members have been demanding the District Department of Transportation to act upon their plans of safe improvements.
The two individuals are presumed to have been homeless, as many often sleep on the park’s benches. A tearful friend, Robert Gregory, who is homeless himself, had been sitting on the bench only about an hour prior to the accident. “You know, they say sometimes people die so that you can live,” he said during the vigil. “So, take it upon yourself to do right by that.”
