Man Drives Tractor Into Pond on DC Mall

ok. the madness begins in DC.

Man Drives Tractor Into Pond on Mall

By Derrill Holly
Associated Press Writer
Monday, March 17, 2003; 6:59 PM


Police were in a standoff Monday with a man they said drove a tractor into a pond near the Washington Monument and Vietnam Veterans Memorial shortly before noon.

Police spokesman Scott Fear says they're negotiating with the man and hoping for a peaceful resolution, but that they have concerns about the contents of the tractor, as well as a Jeep that's also in the pond.

Because of the incident, Metropolitan Police have closed the following roads until further notice.

• Constitution Avenue, Northwest, shut between 15th and 23rd streets.
• No traffic is allowed south of C Street NW along 19th and 21st streets.
• D.C. Police advise drivers going south toward Virginia to use 23rd or 15th streets. They also recommend taking M Street to the Key Bridge.
• East and westbound traffic should use Pennsylvania Avenue or H Street.

A John Deere tractor could be clearly seen in a pond near the Reflecting Pool, in the area known as Constitution Gardens. The tractor was pulling a military-style Jeep and a trailer. The tractor became disconnected from the other vehicles, and the Jeep was partially submerged. The tractor had messages on its cab supporting veterans.

"A very large John Deere tractor crashed into the water," said witness Ted Woynicz. "He was dressed in army fatigues, he had a helmet on with a Red Cross insignia on the front."

The man, reportedly a tobacco farmer from North Carolina, was sitting in the cab of the tractor, which was in about three feet of water. He was playing recordings of military exercise cadences. The area was roped off with crime scene tape.

"We have a dialogue going with the subject," said Fear. More than 100 law enforcement officers from the Park Police, D.C. Police, the FBI and the ATF are on the scene, and a Park Police helicopter circled overhead. City fire trucks and ambulances were also on the scene.

The area is home to the Department of the Interior, the Organization of American States and the National Academy of Sciences. No buildings were evacuated.

 

I haven't been down by that memorial for a while, but I think security would be relaxed in that area, and in all honesty a tractor like this might be able to wander unconfronted. It would probably be considered normal activity because of all the lawn care that goes on down there.

It makes you realize how vulnerable we are. He could have easily been a terrorist.

The White House is probably a good mile away. But it's not too far.