Northwest D.C. Man Dies While Working On Car When Jack Fails

Bridget Reed Morawski
WMAL.com

WASHINGTON — (WMAL) A man was killed while working on his car early Thursday morning when his jack slipped. The car crashed onto the man, who succumbed to his injuries.

D.C. Fire and Rescue received a call for a report of a person trapped underneath his vehicle behind 4412 Kansas Avenue NW. The victim has not yet been identified.

Vito Maggiolo, a D.C. Fire and Rescue spokesman, emphasized the importance of stabilizing your vehicle before performing work on it.

“A solitary jack may not be the answer,” said Maggiolo. “When professional mechanics work on vehicles they have all kinds of safety precautions to keep these sorts of accidents from happening.”

This sort of accident is uncommon, but possible. Maggiolo recalled numerous injuries stemming from car jack malfunctions in the District, but couldn’t remember any deaths.