Moped driver killed in DC crash during US Park Police pursuit identified

WASHINGTON (DC News Now) -- Police have identified the person who was killed in a crash along the William Howard Taft Bridge. The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) said the crash happened on Saturday at around 5:30 p.m. when U.S. Park Police officers detected a stolen 2014 silver Honda Accord along Rock Creek Parkway and Virginia Avenue in Northwest D.C. According to MPD, officers tried to make a traffic stop on the car, but it sped off, heading north on Rock Creek Parkway onto Shoreham Drive. It then went north on 24th St. and then headed south onto Connecticut Avenue. As the car continued speeding south on the William Howard Taft Bridge, it crossed into the opposite lane and hit a moped. The impact of the crash flung the moped driver off and into the street, MPD said. The Honda Accord did not stop and continued southbound off the bridge and onto Connecticut Avenue. It then turned onto Kalorama Road, Northwest, and hit a Toyota RAV4, where it finally came to a stop, MPD said. The suspects inside the Honda Accord got out and began running away, but were quickly apprehended by the U.S. Park Police and U.S. Marshals. DC Fire and EMS responded to the crashes, and despite all life-saving efforts, the moped driver died. He was identified as 46-year-old Nolberto Meza of Hyattsville, Md. The people inside the RAV4, two men, were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. MPD officers were requested to help with the traffic crash, and as a result, the people inside the Honda Accord were arrested. The driver, 24-year-old Tomas Anderson, was charged with murder. The passengers, 19-year-old Donnie Palacios and a 16-year-old boy, were charged with unauthorized use of a vehicle - crime of violence.