By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WASHINGTON — The woman charged with plowing a car through a crowded street festival at speeds up to 70 mph had been ''smoking crack all day long,’' Police Chief Cathy Lanier said, citing statements from the woman and witnesses.
At least 40 people were injured as the car sent people and baby strollers flying, Mayor Adrian M. Fenty said Sunday.
Tonya Bell, 30, was preliminarily charged with aggravated assault while armed, with the ''armed’’ designation referring to use of a vehicle. She faced a hearing in District of Columbia Superior Court on Monday.
Authorities believe Bell, of Oxon Hill, Md., was going about 70 mph Saturday evening when she drove through Unifest, a church-sponsored street festival in southeast Washington. She was treated for an ankle injury, police said.
Officials were still waiting for toxicology results.
Bell appeared to be laughing as she drove the car with flattened tires and broken windows into the crowd, said Linda Greene, who saw Bell’s car from her porch.
''The car just passed so fast, and all of a sudden I just heard people screaming,’' said Denise Jackson. ''I turned around, and it was like bodies falling out of the sky.’'
Her son, 4-year-old Marcellus Jackson, was thrown out of the speeding car’s path by his father, Fenty said. Marcellus suffered a broken leg. His father, Vincent Hayes, was hit by the car but was OK.
Police said Bell was seen driving erratically and had struck an unmarked police car 20 minutes before the injuries at the street festival. Police Cmdr. Patrick Burke said officers had followed Bell’s station wagon but were told to stop because the traffic violation did not pose a threat to officers.
After the car entered the crowd, police didn’t use their weapons because of the risk to civilians. Instead, officers risked their lives and threw two motor scooters under the station wagon to bring it to a stop, Lanier said. Two officers suffered minor injuries. One woman said her husband reached into the car and put it in park.
A 7-year-old girl in the car with Bell was not injured and was taken by Child Protective Services. Her identity was not released.