Washington, DC: Secret Service Motorcycle Officer Critically Injured in Crash Near National Zoo

A Secret Service Police motorcycle officer was critically injured early Tuesday in a collision with an SUV near the National Zoo in northwest Washington, police said.

The Metropolitan Police Department responded to reports of a car crash at the intersection of Devonshire Place and Connecticut Avenue Northwest at 6 a.m. Officers found the motorcyclist unconscious but breathing and determined he had been struck by an SUV, which remained on the site, according to the department.

First responders rendered medical aid to the critically injured officer at the scene, FOX 5 DC reported. Both the officer and the driver of the SUV were transported to area hospitals for evaluation and treatment.

The Secret Service said the SUV driver was also taken to a hospital. "Our thoughts are with those involved," the agency said in a statement. It did not say whether the officer had been on duty at the time of the crash.

Roads closed, then reopened

Roads were temporarily closed near the crash but have since reopened, police said. The intersection sits on Connecticut Avenue, a main route through northwest Washington that passes the National Zoo in the Woodley Park area, and the 6 a.m. crash fell at the start of the morning travel period.

The D.C. police Major Crash Investigations Unit is leading the investigation. Police have not released the officer's name, and the reports published so far do not give the officer's age, the hospital where he was taken, or an updated condition beyond critical injuries.

Officials have not released details about what caused the crash, according to WUSA-TV reporting carried by Officer.com. No cause and no charges were announced in the reports published on Tuesday.

What is known and what is not

What is confirmed by police and the Secret Service is narrow: a motorcycle officer was struck by an SUV at a named intersection at about 6 a.m., the SUV stayed at the scene, both people went to hospitals, and city crash investigators took over the case.

What is not yet public is just as clear. Investigators have not said how the two vehicles came together, whether speed, visibility or any other factor played a role, or when a fuller account will be released. The Secret Service has not said what assignment the officer was on, and it has not given a further medical update.

Crashes that send an officer to a hospital in critical condition draw a full reconstruction by the Major Crash Investigations Unit, and the unit's findings usually set the timeline for any later statement from the department or the agency. Until those findings are shared, the public record of this crash is the short account police gave on Tuesday morning.

The Orbit Post will update this story in place if police or the Secret Service release the officer's condition, a cause, or the results of the crash investigation.