Double Traffic Fatality at 12th Street and Florida Avenue

Double Traffic Fatality at 12th Street and Florida Avenue, NE
Suspect charged with two counts of murder after killing two kids as he fled drug arrest operation

WASHINGTON, D.C. District police said today that it should be noted that the investigation into this case is continuing, and a number of potential witnesses remain to be interviewed. However, at this time it appears that at approximately 12 noon on Saturday, September 11, 2004, members of the Metropolitan Police Department’s Major Narcotics Branch were conducting an operation at 6th Street and Orleans Place, NE. During the operation, a suspect fled the scene in a 1989 Honda Accord. Officers attempted to block the suspect’s escape route, but he managed to elude them and fled at a high rate of speed. Officers apparently attempted to pursue the suspect, but the pursuit was reportedly ordered terminated a short distance from the scene after officers lost sight of the vehicle. Officers continued on into the area.

The suspect vehicle reportedly continued on at a high rate of speed east on Florida Avenue. While at the intersection of 12th Street and Florida Avenue, NE, the suspect vehicle, traveling on the wrong side of the road, reportedly ran a red light and struck two children walking in the crosswalk with their father. The vehicle then struck a 1996 Ford Thunderbird, traveling south on Montello Avenue, NE, before striking a pole and coming to a stop. The suspect fled on foot but was apprehended near 12th and I Streets, NE, after responding officers were alerted to his direction of flight by residents in the area.

The two children, identified as 8-year-old Octavia Suydan and her 7-year-old brother Christopher Suydan Jr., of the 8700 block of Oxwell Lane in Laurel, Maryland, were taken to Children’s Hospital and pronounced dead at approximately 1 pm. The driver of the Thunderbird, a 17-year-old Virginia female, was taken to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Her name is being withheld because she is a witness in this case.The suspect is identified as 19-year-old Eric Palmer, of the 1200 block of 19th Street, NE. He is currently charged with two counts of Second Degree Murder and faces possible additional charges.

This case is currently under investigation by members of the department’s Major Crash Investigations Unit and the Office of Professional Responsibility’s Force Investigation Team.