Tomas Anderson, Washington: Car thief hits a moped head-on and runs, leaving a trail of destruction and a murder charge.
Tomas Anderson, a 24-year-old from Northeast Washington, is facing a long time behind bars after a wild ride ended in absolute tragedy. Authorities say he was behind the wheel of a stolen silver 2014 Honda Accord when he decided to run from the law on a busy Saturday evening.
The trouble started around 5:35 p.m. near Rock Creek Parkway and Virginia Avenue NW. U.S. Park Police spotted the stolen car and tried to pull it over, but Anderson refused to stop and slammed on the gas instead.
What followed was a dangerous, high-speed chase through several tight city streets. Anderson allegedly wove through traffic, pushing the stolen sedan to its limits as officers trailed behind trying to stop him.
The chase spilled onto Connecticut Avenue and onto the William Howard Taft Bridge, where things took a fatal turn. Anderson allegedly veered right into oncoming lanes, smashing head-on into a moped ridden by 46-year-old Nolberto Meza.
Even after the brutal impact that threw the moped rider onto the street, Anderson kept going. He raced off the bridge and finally slammed into an occupied Toyota RAV4 over on Kalorama Road NW.
With the Honda completely wrecked, Anderson and his two passengers jumped out to run away on foot. The passengers included 19-year-old Donnie Palacios and a 16-year-old kid, but U.S. Park Police and the U.S. Marshals tracked them down fast.
Prosecutors aren't going easy on him, hitting Anderson with a heavy charge of second-degree murder. His two passengers are also locked up, facing charges for unauthorized use of a vehicle as the investigatio
n wraps up.
