Local
Gay man gets 4 years in hit-and-run death
Joel Bromwell sentenced after a hit and run that killed Ruby Whitfield
Gay restaurant manager Joel Bromwell was sentenced to four years in jail for the March 21 hit and run accident in which the vehicle he was driving struck and killed a 71-year-old. (Photo via Wikimedia)
A D.C. Superior Court judge on Aug. 30 sentenced gay restaurant manager Joel Bromwell to four years in jail for the March 21 hit and run accident in which the vehicle he was driving struck and killed a 71-year-old woman on a street in Northeast D.C.
Bromwell, 32, pled guilty in May to the charges of involuntary manslaughter and driving under the influence of alcohol in connection with the incident. He has been held in jail since the time he was arrested on the night of the accident. The maximum sentence for the two offenses is 30 years incarceration.
Many among his wide circle of friends in the D.C. gay community described Bromwell as a kind and gentle person who would never intentionally hurt anyone, and expressed shock upon learning of the incident.
A statement released by the U.S. Attorney’s office on the day of the sentencing says eyewitnesses saw Bromwell’s sport utility vehicle strike Ruby Whitfield as she was walking across the 1100 block of Florida Avenue, N.E. in a clearly marked crosswalk. The statement says Whitfield, who had just left a church ushers meeting, became lodged beneath the SUV and was dragged about 86 feet as Bromwell continued driving.
One of the witnesses in a nearby car drove up to Bromwell’s SUV a block from the scene of the accident, told Bromwell he had hit someone, and urged him to return to the scene, the statement says. It says Bromwell ignored the witness and drove away.
D.C. police a short time later located Bromwell’s SUV and Bromwell and arrested him. When taken to a police station breath tests showed that his blood alcohol was above the legal limit for driving, the U.S. Attorney’s statement says.
The Washington Post reported Bromwell submitted a written statement to the court saying that “from the morning when I wake up to the every night when I go to sleep, I feel the pain and anguish I’ve caused other people…Because of my choices, I’ve hurt people in ways that is not fathomable.”
According to the Post, the victim’s daughter, Tasyha Whitfield, told the court in a written statement that the incident that took her mother’s life was a “heartless and senseless crime” and that she doesn’t accept Bromwell’s expression of remorse.
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Congratulations to Yadiel Meléndez, on their new role as Community Associate, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Meléndez is piloting a new role as a Community Associate at the Wanda Alston Foundation, where they support queer and trans young people in finding their footing, building independence, and experiencing a housing community where they are seen, valued, and affirmed. They are coming into this role with more than a decade of experience as a community organizer and operations specialist, supporting diverse communities through service, advocacy, and program coordination.
Previously they worked for Right Proper Brewing Shaw as a server and bartender and at Sephora, Washington, DC, and at FreshFarm, DC, in bilingual food access. They also worked freelance to build foundational structures for local queer BIPOC performance art coalitions, producing variety shows to curate space for marginalized performance artists in the community. They were a production manager for Haus of Hart Productions, a BIPOC centric performance art production. They also worked as field staff with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention in Stafford, Va.
Meléndez is bilingual, Spanish and English. Their work is guided by a commitment to dignity, safety, and trauma-informed engagement, particularly within LGBTQ and BIPOC communities.
Congratulations also to Ben Rosen LICSW, on his new role as program director, with the Wanda Alston Foundation. Rosen previously worked with Fountain House’s OnRamps program, helping to build a new, innovative outreach program for individuals considered chronically homeless, and living with serious mental illness, in the Times Square area of New York. Rosen is a Psychotherapist, having worked with SG Psychotherapy, and as the psychotherapist with the Nest Community Health Center (URAM).
Rosen has a B.F.A. in Theatre Arts: Musical Theatre, Minor in Psychology (Cum Laude) from Malloy University Conservatory; and his M.S.W. in Clinical Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups, from The Silberman School of Social Work, Hunter College, N.Y. He is independently licensed in New York and Washington, D.C.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
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