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The US Park Police identified the victims of the Rock Creek Parkway crash as Mohamed Kamara, 42, of Burtonsville, MD (driver); Jonathan Cabrera Mendez, 23, of Arlington, VA; and Olvin Torres Velasquez, 22, of Arlington, VA.
According to NBC Washington, Kamara had been living with his siblings and working as a Lyft driver, sending money home to his family in Sierra Leone. His 5-year-old daughter is among those who survive him, the outlet said.
A GoFundMe account aims to raise funds to send Velasquez's body back to his home country, Honduras.
"He was a cheerful boy who got along well with all his co-workers and was easily liked by the people who were around him and had a charisma like no other," reads the campaign, launched by Danny Cardona Orozco. "Alvin always had a smile on his lips and even though he had problems he always said everything is fine. He was a boy who was finishing building a house for his mother and younger siblings in his country so that they would have a house to live in and make them happy..."
According to NBC, Velasquez and Mendez were heading home from a night out.
Kamara, Velasquez and Mendez were riding in a Honda sedan when they were struck head-on by a Lexus SUV that had fled a traffic stop just before 1:45 a.m. on the parkway near P Street NW, authorities said.
The occupants of the Lexus, a man and woman, were transported to area hospitals for treatment of what were initially described as "non-life-threatening" by police. On Thursday, officials say that the woman’s injuries were considered life-threatening, though the man’s injuries were not.
Detectives were working with the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia as the investigation continues.
Anyone with information has been asked to contact the US Park Police tip line by calling (202) 379-4877.
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