President Donald Trump is facing sharp criticism after a woman was killed by a tank convoy following his military parade — a tragedy critics say was completely avoidable.
Sierra Nichole Smith, 39, died in a gruesome accident on Monday after being struck and dragged by a truck carrying an M1 Abrams tank through Washington, D.C. She was hit at the intersection of New York Avenue and Bladensburg Road as the heavy military vehicle was being hauled to a rail yard in Jessup, Maryland.
According to a police report, the woman “ran into the roadway, stumbled, and fell in front of the semi-trailer truck.” The truck hit her, pinned her underneath, and kept moving. Smith’s body was eventually dislodged, only to be hit again by a Chevrolet Suburban following behind.
Emergency crews found her dead at the scene — alone and unclothed — USA Today reported.
D.C. shadow senator Paul Strauss (D) placed the blame squarely on Trump’s decision to bring tanks into the city.
“These tanks did not need to be on local streets and consequently they didn’t need to be hauled away in a big convoy,” Strauss told The Daily Mail.
He continued, “In some ways it’s a very random accident that could have occurred with another vehicle. But it really begs the question: Why was this necessary to have all this equipment here? We don’t know if enough precautions were taken. It’s not an everyday occurrence that military hardware takes over the city in the way it did.”
Strauss didn’t hold back, calling the entire display an “unnecessary exercise done for the sole purpose of appeasing the president’s ego on his birthday.”
“The details that have been made public are just horrific,” he said. “She was dragged for blocks. It’s horrific for so many reasons.”
The Metropolitan Police Department says the truck driver was not at fault. No military personnel were involved in the accident.
The White House has not responded to questions about the incident.
