D.C. Man Sentenced to 50 Months in Prison Following Hit and Run Case

United States Attorney Kenneth Wainstein announced that Bobby Charles Reed, 30, of Washington, D.C., was sentenced recently to a term of imprisonment of 50 months by Superior Court Judge Thomas Motley, following a January 2005 plea of guilty to one count of Aggravated Assault in connection with a hit and run vehicular collision which left five people injured, three seriously.

According to the government’s evidence, on April 4, 2004, at approximately 4 a.m., a 1993 Subaru Legacy station wagon, with five occupants, was traveling westbound on East Capitol Street. As the driver was nearing the intersection of 58th and East Capitol, the light changed from red to green. At that time, the driver was in the right travel lane. The Subaru crossed the northbound lane of 58th, but before it could completely pass the intersection, it was struck on its passenger side by a green Honda Civic that had run the red signal at a high rate of speed.

The force of the impact caused the Subaru to slide sideways into the cement median. The Subaru struck the median, flipped over, knocked out a traffic signal pole, landed on its roof, and slid about four car lengths on its roof. It came to a final rest with all five occupants trapped inside. The Honda, meanwhile, slid and came to a final rest in the middle of East Capitol about 70 feet from the point of impact. As witnesses attempted to aid the occupants of the Subaru, the driver of the Honda reportedly disappeared.

Two of occupants of the Subaru suffered only minor injuries. However, a third passenger suffered broken ribs and a punctured lung, while a fourth suffered a broken back and was in a cast/brace until the end of August (almost five months). A fifth passenger remained hospitalized for eleven months after the crash and has suffered long term disabilities.

An investigation revealed that the car was owned by Flex-Car Incorporated, which is a company that rents cars to individuals on a short-term basis. The actual rentals are conducted by a satellite using access codes. This particular unit had been rented to a relative of the defendant.

Subsequently, it was determined that the defendant, Reed, was operating the vehicle at the time of the crash. His license had reportedly been suspended in Florida, North Carolina, Ohio, Virginia, and the District of Columbia for numerous speeding and other traffic violations.

A search warrant was secured for a blood sample from the defendant, which was analyzed by Cellmark Orchid and compared with DNA recovered from the driver’s airbag in the Honda. It was reportedly a complete match.