Photo by María Helena Carey
Memorial services will be held today for Ashley Turton, the Capitol Hill mother of three and Hill lobbyist who died in a bizarre car fire Monday, at 3 pm at the New York Avenue Presbyterian Church on New York and H NW.
So far, the accident appears to be simply that; an accident. While a joint MPD-DC Fire and EMS investigation continues, no one has any reason to suspect this isn’t anything other than a very strange and tragic accident. While low speed cashes rarely result in fires, in a Roll Call article, DC Fire Spokesman Pete Peringer noted “It’s quite possible that the victim was maneuvering the car and came in contact with some kind of flammable chemical materials.”
Of particular note is that while MPD is investigating the incident, a portion of it is being conducted by the Major Crash Investigations Unit, and not homicide detectives. Also, according to WTOP, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is assisting in the investigation.
Of course, this tragedy isn’t the only one to strike the Hill this week. If you are like me, you sometimes block out the big white building at the other end of the Hill from which our neighborhood draws its name, but an event like the shooting in Arizona brings home how truly connected we are. Many of you knew Gabe Zimmermann, work with the Congresswoman, or were otherwise touched by this tragedy. Congresswoman Gifford’s staff has set up an email, giffordswellwishes@gmail.com, to allow people to share their thoughts.