One civilian injured in crash with D.C. National Guard military vehicle
LEILA FADEL, HOST:
A 16-ton National Guard military vehicle crashed into a car in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. The person in the car was trapped, rescued by the city fire department and then taken to the hospital with minor injuries. The D.C. National Guard is investigating the crash. Some local residents are now speaking out against what they call an oversized militarized force on their streets. NPR's Luke Garrett has been learning more and joins us now. Good morning, Luke.
LUKE GARRETT, BYLINE: Good morning.
FADEL: OK, so what happened?
GARRETT: So the National Guard told us that one of their military vehicles - it's called a mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle, or MRAP - got into a crash with a civilian car. This vehicle was part of a five-car convoy transporting D.C. National Guard troops through the district. The crash happened around 6 a.m. yesterday in a neighborhood just blocks away from the U.S. Capitol. Now, we don't know much about the injured person, though we were told they are OK and they have not pressed any criminal charges yet. But some Capitol Hill residents who woke up to the crash really weren't happy.
FADEL: What have you been hearing from those residents?
GARRETT: So I spoke with Samuel Pastore. He lives just a few doors down from the crash site. He also happens to be a neighborhood commissioner. Pastore says traffic safety is a really big concern in the neighborhood and that the D.C. National Guard isn't helping.
SAMUEL PASTORE: We've been grappling with road safety already 'cause people drive crazy. The last thing we need are tanks adding to the problem.
GARRETT: Now, top of mind for Pastore is pedestrian safety for kids as they head back to school next week. He says military vehicles really just aren't meant for their streets.
FADEL: Now, I understand this was an MRAP, which I've never seen outside of Iraq when I covered the war there. So it's jarring to see this huge military vehicle in the streets of D.C. For people who don't know what an MRAP is, just explain what this vehicle involved in the crash looks like and is actually meant for.
GARRETT: Right. In short, they're huge. Think 32,000 pounds of metal and tires. They're 13 feet tall, 10 feet wide and more than 20 feet long. Bradley Bowman, who served as a U.S. Army officer for 15 years and taught at West Point, said MRAPs were built after Humvees really failed to protect soldiers in the battlefield.
BRADLEY BOWMAN: Basically, they were created to try to save American service members serving in Iraq and Afghanistan from improvised explosive devices.
GARRETT: Now, Bowman said they were sent to both active and reserve U.S. forces and are commonly used by the National Guard. And while Bowman didn't comment specifically on this D.C. crash and the D.C. deployment of the Guard, he said as a principle, the U.S. should always be cautious about how it uses military forces and vehicles at home.
FADEL: Can we take a step back here for a second, Luke? I mean, the National Guard are in D.C. as part of President Trump's mission to make D.C., quote, "safe and beautiful again," unquote. What are we hearing from the White House?
GARRETT: As of this morning, the White House has not responded to our request for comment. But just hours after this incident yesterday, Vice President JD Vance paid a visit to the National Guard troops at Union Station. And he did respond to a question about the widespread concern among D.C. residents, you know, about these National Guard troops in their city. Here's Vance with a group of protesters gathered behind him.
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VICE PRESIDENT JD VANCE: I'm highly skeptical that a majority of D.C. residents don't want their city to be - to have better public safety.
GARRETT: So here Vance is praising the National Guard and saying, you know, despite what D.C. residents say, you know, they really support the D.C. National Guard.
FADEL: And just really quickly, how many National Guard troops are in D.C. and where are they from?
GARRETT: So as of last night, 1,800 Guard members are here. They're from Tennessee, Louisiana, West Virginia, South Carolina and D.C. Now, Mississippi and Ohio Guard troops have also been ordered here. But at a last check, the D.C. Joint Task Force says they're not here yet.
FADEL: That's NPR's Luke Garrett. Thank you, Luke.
GARRETT: Thank you.
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