Particle.news
Download on the App Store
5 ARTICLES
·
15h ago

DC Woman Killed by Truck Hauling M1 Abrams Tank After Army 250th Anniversary Parade

Investigators have cleared the contract driver of negligence following the June 16 crash that killed Sierra Nichole Smith, 39.

Image
U.S. Army soldiers work on an assortment of M1 Alpha a3 Abrams tanks, stryker armored vehicles, and M2 Bradley fighting vehicles at West Potomac Park along the Potomac River on June 11, 2025 in Washington, DC.
Members of the US Army drive a M1 Abrams tank across the Memorial Bridge during the Army 250th Anniversary Parade in Washington, DC, on June 14, 2025.
Image

Overview

  • Sierra Nichole Smith was struck and killed around 9:30 p.m. on June 16 as a semi-trailer was moving an M1 Abrams tank along New York Avenue in Washington, DC.
  • The tank was being transported from the West Potomac Park parade staging area to a railyard in Jessup, Maryland, after participating in the Army’s 250th birthday parade on June 14.
  • An initial Metropolitan Police Department inquiry found no evidence of criminal intent or negligence by the contract truck driver.
  • Officers discovered Smith unconscious and not breathing beside the vehicle and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
  • Nearly 6,000 soldiers and 84 military vehicles, including 28 M1 Abrams tanks, had marched past the National Mall two days earlier as part of the birthday celebration.