An accident at Georgetown’s on-campus heating and cooling plant left one man injured and multiple buildings without power this morning.

The man, a worker in the plant, was electrically shocked and transported to Georgetown University Hospital to be evaluated, according to DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services spokesperson Pete Piringer. The extent of the worker’s injuries is unknown at this time.

GERMS was initially dispatched to the scene at 10:56 a.m. and transported the injured worker to GU Hospital’s Department of Emergency Medicine at 11:02 a.m. According to GERMS President Colin Brody (COL ’11), DC Fire EMS responded shortly thereafter.

After the accident, power outages were reported in Healy Hall, Copley Hall, White-Gravenor Hall, and Lauinger Library.

According to DC Fire EMS’s Twitter account, the accident occurred in a “chiller plant” within the heating and cooling plant.

Chillers are often used on college campuses and other large residential complexes to produce cold water for air conditioning and refrigeration systems. Georgetown’s heating and cooling plant is located directly south of the Yates Field House.

Photo and reporting: Geoffrey Bible

At approximately 4 p.m. this afternoon, a female cyclist was struck by a Super Shuttle van while riding eastbound on Prospect Street.

According to witnesses at the scene, the cyclist rode through a stop sign and the van, which was traveling northbound on 33rd Street, was unable to stop before colliding with her.

“People riding bicycles in the city need to respect traffic signs,” MPD Officer N.A. Cook, who took witnesses’ statements at the scene, said. “The same accident at the same intersection happened about a week ago.”

Cook later identified the cyclist as a college student.

The woman, who was wearing a helmet, told EMS responders that she did not remember the accident. Although one responder told Vox that she “should be okay,” the woman was nonetheless transported to a nearby hospital.

Photo: Jackson Perry

On Wednesday night, a fire broke out in the eighth floor common room of Harbin Hall.

According to Lt. Reynolds of the D.C. Fire Department, the fire began in the oven when someone tried to heat up a pizza without taking it out of the box.

Around 6:45 p.m., Harbin Hall was immediately evacuated and the D.C. Fire and Emergency Medical Services responded to the scene.

“I was watching TV in my room when the alarm went off. I actually thought it was part of what I was watching,” said Kerry Ryan (COL ’13). “I heard people saying that it smelled in their common room.”

Students gathered outside and waited on the patio as a DPS officer guarded the entrance. At around 7:10 p.m., residents were allowed to return.

Photo by Jackson Perry.

On Monday afternoon, a GUTS bus driver struck a cyclist as he was turning the corner at Reservoir Road. Several sources, including Nick Troiano (COL ’11) and the D.C. Fire and EMS department, reported the accident on Twitter just before 2:00 p.m.

University Spokesperson Andy Pino wrote in an e-mail that the cyclist was not seriously injured, and the GUTS bus driver was not at fault.

“The cyclist was not seriously injured and she admitted to being at fault in the incident,” he wrote. “The GUTS driver called for an ambulance to assure that she was not injured. A police report was taken, and the driver was not cited. EMTs checked out the cyclist and put a bandage on her knee.”

Photo from Washington City Paper

Early Saturday morning, officers from the Metropolitan Police Department arrested two men suspected of robbing a woman at knifepoint on the 3900 block of W Street.

According to a crime summary from Lieutenant Antonio Charland, the victim of the robbery, a female, left a party at 40th Street around 1:30 a.m. and was approached from behind by two black males. One suspect took out a knife, held it to her throat, and told her to drop her belongings. The suspects then stole her purse, credit cards, $80, and BlackBerry, and fled the scene.

MPD officers arrived in minutes to canvas the scene and apprehended two suspects, and the Second District’s detective office helped them conduct a visual identification. The victim made a positive ID, and the suspects were arrested.

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Damon Pearson, 59, the pedestrian struck in the car accident at Wisconsin Avenue and M Street on March 30, died as a result of his injuries on April 3. Pearson, who has no fixed address, was struck by a Volkswagen as he was crossing Wisconsin Avenue and transported to George Washington Hospital. He was treated at Washington Hospital Center until April 3.

The Metropolitan Police department report said that they are still investigating the crash.

Update 2:37 p.m. March 31—The vehicle in this incident was a Volkswagen station wagon, Commander Matthew Klein of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Second District wrote in an e-mail to a community listserv. The case is still under investigation by the Major Crash Investigation Unit, and speeding does not seem to have contributed to the incident.

It is still unclear whether the driver or the pedestrian is at fault, and Klein did not give information about the pedestrian’s condition.

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At about 9:30 p.m. on Tuesday, a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle at the intersection of M Streets and Wisconsin Avenue. The man was taken away in an ambulance for hospital care and it is unclear at this time what his condition is.

Iris Kim (COL ’12), the cover editor for the Voice, was an eyewitness to the incident. She said that as she was crossing M Street, she saw a vehicle driving north on Wisconsin Avenue strike an older man as he was crossing Wisconsin. The pedestrian flew several feet into the air. When he landed on the ground, he was not moving and had blood coming from his mouth. Later, however, Kim said that the crowd which had gathered around him was repeatedly asking him questions, although she was unsure if he answered.

When the Metropolitan Police Department arrived at the scene, Kim said that a white man in his fifties approached them and identified himself as the driver who had hit the pedestrian. Kim said that as she had the right of way crossing the street, she did not believe that the pedestrian was crossing legally.

Police at the scene would not release any more details about the accident. Vox has left a message with MPD’s communications department. At 10:37 p.m., the intersection of Wisconsin and M Street was still blocked off with officers present at the scene.

Based on information from an MPD officer at the scene, we originally reported on Twitter that a female was struck and killed in this incident. We apologize for the error.

The scene at the accident

Several blogs are reporting that on Monday night, a taxi cab struck a cyclist at the intersection of 31st and M Streets in Georgetown, badly injuring the cyclist. WashCycle has an account from someone who came across the aftermath of the accident, when the cyclist was being loaded into an ambulance on a backboard. The latecomer said he or she spoke to an eyewitness who the police had interviewed about the crash:

[The eyewitness said it] was a head on collision between 6:00 and 6:15 tonight. It was well after sundown and dark. Cyclist was eastbound on M Street in the eastbound lanes. Cab was pointed westbound in the eastbound lanes.

Grill was broken in, windshield shattered, hood dented and roof dented. Bike was on the cab’s passenger side pointing west. Witness told me the cab had come to a stop before impact so where the cab was stopped was where the impact was. Witness couldn’t say for sure if cyclist had green, red or yellow light.

The Metropolitan Police Department confirmed for Vox last night that an accident took place at 31st and M, but per their policy, could not give out any information about the accident over the phone.

Via Georgetown Metropolitan

Never fear, your organic produce is safe and sound!

For those who were fearing Georgetown would be left totally supermarket-less after last night’s accident at Whole Foods, take heart: the store suffered only minor damages and was open for business today, according to the blog We Love D.C.

According to eyewitness reports We Love D.C. heard, the incident occurred when an elderly woman was driving her car down into the garage and sped up into the wall of the grocery store.  The driver sustained minor injuries, and no one else was hurt.

We Love D.C. reports:

According to an eyewitness report, who was in the Whole Foods by the meat counter, there was a loud collision-like noise and a rumble from the impact.  Immediately, a Whole Foods employee came running up the garage stairwell, yelling for the entire store to clear out and customers began heading (in a somewhat civil manner) to the Wisconsin Avenue exit …

From the picture I took from the top of the garage ramp (which is as good as I could get from my pauper cell phone,) the entire front of the driver’s car was smashed in, indicating to me, that the car was going very fast at the time of impact. That no one was seriously injured in the accident is a great fortuity considering the amount of Whole Foods’ employees and customers present at this high volume shopping time.

A message on the Georgetown Forum listerv explains the extent of the damage:

A wall collapsed and some glass broke but no one was hurt, including the driver. The store has boarded up the accident scene and other than the elevators being out of service, it’s business as usual.

The top part of a tree trunk split off and struck a woman on 36^th Street between N and Prospect Streets around 1:15 this afternoon. GERMS, the Metropolitan Police Department, DPS and the D.C. Fire Department were on the scene within minutes to tend to the victim, who was immobilized, loaded onto a stretcher and taken off the scene in a D.C. ambulance. She will be treated at George Washington University Hospital, according to Officer Brittingham of MPD. GERMS declined to comment at this time. The accident happened outside the Mortara Center, near Wisemiller’s Deli. More updates as this story develops.

View more photos after the jump.

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An e-mail sent to residents of Village B sheds some light on the cause of Saturday night’s fire.

Dear Residents of Alumni Square–

I am writing as a Residence Life Staff member on call for the weekend. I would like to alert you about a potential fire safety issue that can be easily clarified. It has come to our attention that some of you may be using the drawer space beneath your oven as storage. Please note that it is actually a broiler space as part of the oven. When using the over, items in there may become extremely hot, melt, and/or catch fire. If you have used this as a drawer in the past, please remove any items being stored there.

If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact an RA or your Hall Director, Heather Cruz, who will be in touch during the business week.
Thanks and enjoy your weekend.
Christy Anthony
Ass’t Director, Office of Residence Life

This is an important first step. But who will protect Village B students from drying their hair in the bath?
- Sam Sweeney, Senior Writer