Police on Thursday arrested a 20-year-old man involved in a five-car collision that killed a pedestrian in downtown D.C., three blocks from the White House. Santana Matthews was charged with second-degree murder while armed with a vehicle.
D.C. police said that Matthews fled a traffic stop before the crash, which happened Wednesday just before 4 p.m. The two D.C. police officers who attempted the traffic stop have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the department’s internal affairs bureau.
Matthews made a brief court appearance Thursday evening in D.C. Superior Court, where a judge ordered him held in jail without bond to await his preliminary hearing Jan. 27.
According to court documents, Matthews was traveling southbound in a dark Chevy Malibu “at a high rate of speed” when he collided with another car and fatally struck a pedestrian in the crosswalk at 16th and L streets NW near the Capitol Hilton. After hitting the pedestrian, Matthews continued south, then struck two additional cars, which caused further collisions. Two other drivers were taken to the hospital with minor injuries.
Police identified the victim as Aaron Marckell Williams, 26.
Williams was a graduate of the University of Miami and a photographer who covered music festivals and major protests, contributing to the weekly Washington Informer. Last year, he wrote on Facebook that he was being baptized for the second time. “I want people to look at my life and career and see that it was God behind the scenes the whole time,” he wrote.
He “just was focused on becoming the best person he could be,” one friend wrote on Facebook, saying Williams convinced him to lead a Bible study group.
The Wednesday collision occurred as downtown D.C.’s streets were beginning to fill with pedestrians leaving work for home. Following the crash, Matthews exited from the Malibu’s passenger side door and fled down 16th Street, removing his coat and throwing an object from his hand, according to court documents.
On K Street, Matthews was intercepted by two D.C. police officers. The officers then retrieved Matthew’s coat and a quart-sized bag that appeared to contain a “green weed like substance,” according to court documents. A digital scale and additional Ziploc bag were also discovered on Matthews, court documents show. He was taken to a hospital because of cuts on his face.
Court documents show at least two witnesses reported seeing a police cruiser in pursuit of the Malibu before the collision. Alex Wroblewski, a freelance photographer, was in a car at the intersection of 16th and Q streets NW around 3:45 p.m. Wednesday when he said he was almost struck by a series of cars barreling past. First, a dark Chevy Malibu. Then, two marked police cruisers and an unmarked car with emergency lights on. He said a woman in the car next to him rolled her window down so they could talk about how they were almost hit. Less than five minutes later, the crash occurred.
“I feel very grateful to be here and not in a hospital,” Wroblewski said in an interview with The Washington Post on Thursday. “I was thinking about that all day.”
In an interview with police at the hospital, Matthews said the Malibu belonged to his aunt, according to a police affidavit, and he had borrowed the car to drop his girlfriend off at a hair appointment. Matthews told investigators that the first time he saw police was when they came running toward him after the crash.
He told investigators he sped to an estimated 60 mph up at a yellow light at the intersection when he struck a car making a left-hand turn. He denied seeing a pedestrian in the crosswalk and said that he exited the car looking for help, according to a court document. The speed limit for the area is 25 mph.
Investigators noted the Matthews is not authorized to drive in D.C. He was arrested at the hospital on charges of second-degree murder, fleeing from law enforcement, driving without a permit and leaving the scene after a collision, police said.
In court Thursday, an attorney for Matthews argued the crash had been an accident, asking the judge not to find probable cause to charge Matthews with second-degree murder and not to order Matthews held in jail. The attorney described Matthews as a lifelong Washingtonian and graduate of Calvin Coolidge High School who worked as a carpenter’s apprentice and lived with his mother and sister in D.C’s Shaw neighborhood.
Magistrate Judge Dorsey G. Jones denied the request, citing the fact that Matthews was already on probation for two 2024 cases involving gun and drug charges.
“There’s no question in my mind that driving that fast in a highly congested area like this constitutes an extreme disregard for life,” Jones said.
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