Man says he ‘just wanted to help’ at deadly crash site — but D.C. police towed his car

When Benjamin Davis saw a horrific crash in Washington, D.C., he said he felt compelled to stop his car and help.

Now, the Maryland man says he is without a car after D.C. police treated him “like a suspect” and towed his car, Fox5 reported.

“I don’t know those gentlemen – I don’t know anyone – I just saw an accident happen,” he told Fox5. “I just wanted to help someone and that’s what I thought I did. And I was treated like a suspect.”

The fatal crash happened late Sunday night near Suitland Parkway in Southeast Washington, D.C., according to The Washington Post. It killed 21-year-old Kyree Lloyd, who was driving, and left his unidentified passenger injured when police say their speeding car hit a tree after rolling off the road.

As he headed to work, Davis told WJLA he stopped at the crash scene and managed to pull the passenger out of the mangled car.

“The guy is hanging out of the passenger side door,” he told the outlet. “Unfortunately, his friend was crushed.”

After helping out at the crash, Davis said DC police told him he could leave the scene — and so he did. Davis told WJLA he was pulled over and told “you’re being detained because you were a witness to a vehicle where someone died.”

In an interview with Fox5, Davis recalled his confusion at being pulled over.

“l was like, ‘What is going on here? What is this really about?’ They said, ‘You don’t want to cooperate, your car will get towed,’” Davis told Fox5. “My vehicle was stolen. I was not written a citation or ticket or anything for any infraction, so there is no probable cause to even pull my vehicle over.

“I don’t know what was going on with those people or what,” he continued. “But somebody died there and they treated everyone like suspects and it was just horrible.”

In a statement to Reason, a spokesperson for the D.C. police said Davis “didn’t have a valid driver’s license” and was towed. But according to WJLA, Davis said he was never cited for anything and his license is valid.

As of Tuesday, the man’s car was still impounded, the police spokesperson told Reason.

This story was originally published December 12, 2018 at 8:18 AM with the headline "Man says he ‘just wanted to help’ at deadly crash site — but D.C. police towed his car."