I witnessed an interesting little accident on Sunday, January 9, 2005— one in which FBI Director Robert Mueller's Secret Service vehicle (he was accompanied by a male and a female companion) struck a parked car and then departed the scene…without leaving so much as a note.
This took place on MacArthur Boulevard, in front of the Starland Café (in DC's "Pallisades" neighborhood). Mueller and his companions dined at the restaurant, and departed at about 8 p.m., with three Secret Service agents. From my seat by the front window I could see the trio climb into their black SUV, which pulled up and parallel parked directly in front of the Starland's entrance. When the SUV backed up (to clear space so they could pull out into the street), it struck a gold-colored Saturn that had been parked in front of the restaurant for a few hours.
In fact, Mueller's Secret Service vehicle struck the car with enough force that the SUV actually rode up onto its bumper. When Mueller's vehicle pulled away, I could see the bumper of the SUV dragging off of the Saturn, literally pulling a piece of the Secret Service vehicle (the rear step-plate, I believe) off of the truck. That piece was dangling almost at street level as they quickly drove off. Needless to say, I was almost speechless with shock, both at the accident itself and at the fact that they drove off without stopping. I immediately wrote down the license number on Mueller's Secret Service vehicle (BB-1199).
After about two minutes, the SUV pulled up alongside the gold Saturn once more. I saw the agent in the front passenger seat lean out and take a cursory glance at the car they had struck, then a glance up at the restaurant window, before the SUV sped off again. (I also noticed that the dangling piece of the SUV's bumper had been kicked or otherwise wrangled back up.) At no point did anyone in the SUV—Mueller or his agents—get out of the SUV to examine the Saturn for damage. They did not leave a note for the owner, so that if he or she noticed damage from the accident, it would be possible to address the issue.
When I left the restaurant, I stopped by the car to leave a note on the windshield. Up close, I thought I detected hairline scrapes on the bumper, such as would appear if one rubbed sandpaper lightly over it. But it was too dark to tell if the damage to the paint was deeper. If, up close to the Saturn, I had trouble detecting the damage due to the darkness of the street, then how in the world could Mueller's agents expect to detect damage with a brief glance as they drove by the car?
This type of accident occurs in the District every day. Many people leave notes for the owner of the "other car." Many others simply drive away. I chalk this up to "life in the city," and am thankful for my relatively "worn in" car (no worries about chips or scratches for me).
However, Mueller, in his position as director of the FBI, represents one of the highest law enforcement agencies in the land. His Secret Service agents, themselves, represent yet another respected branch of law enforcement. A former police reporter with a very high regard for law enforcement professionals, I feel that this high-ranking official and his agents should practice the very tenets they supposedly "stand for." Common decency suggests that an average person should leave a note. But in his current role, I feel that Mueller should be held to a higher standard.
At any rate, to witness the director of the FBI involved in what could very loosely be termed a "hit and run" accident was not only shocking, but disturbing and disappointing. Maybe I should know better, but I expected more of him, and of the Secret Service agents who were ferrying him about that night.
Here's hoping that, someday, my expectations of people in positions like Mueller's will be fulfilled.
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