WASHINGTON — A crash on the 11th Street Bridge at Interstate 295 Monday afternoon sent two D.C. police officers to the hospital and caused major traffic delays through the evening rush hour.
Around 1:30 p.m., two male D.C. police officers were helping the driver of a disabled vehicle in a single-vehicle crash on the I-695/I-295 interchange when another vehicle traveling northbound on the ramp lost control and struck the officers, said interim D.C. Police Chief Peter ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ham.
The two officers — whose names have not been released — are in serious condition at Washington Hospital Center, ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ham said. Both the driver of the striking vehicle and the driver the officers stopped to help also were injured.
The 11th Street Bridge ramps to and from I-295 closed because of the crash around 1:30 p.m. All lanes reopened to traffic around 7:10 p.m.
The crash demonstrates a typical danger police face in the field, ²ÝÝ®´«Ã½ham said.
“This is the type of thing that police officers do — they get out of their cars to assist people on dangerous roadways all the time,” he said.
Officials have not released any additional details about the crash.
²ÝÝ®´«Ã½’s Dick Uliano contributed to this report.
