Tyra Hunter

Tyra Hunter had been transitioned since she was 14 years old. On the morning of August 7, 1995 the popular 24 year old hairdresser was on her way to work as a passenger in a car. That vehicle ended up being involved in an accident at the corner of 50th and C streets in Southeast DC.

Tyra and the driver had been pulled from the smoking ruins of the vehicle by onlookers and were lying on the ground when fire department personnel arrived at the scene. The neighborhood began gathering to watch as a male firefighter began treating Tyra for her injuries. That is, until he cut open her pants leg and noted she had male genitalia.

At that point, according to eyewitnesses, the firefighter, later identified as Adrian Williams stood up and backed away from Tyra. She was semi-conscious, complaining about pain and gasping for breath as he was quoted as saying by one witness, "This b*tch ain't no girl...It's a n*gger, he got a dick."

Williams began joking with the other fire department personnel at the scene as the bystanders pleaded with them to resume working to save Tyra's life. One bystander is quoted as saying, "It don’t make any difference, he’s [sic] a person, he’s a human being."
The firefighters on the scene didn't share that assessment. They were more concerned with honing their comedic skills than doing their duty. Another witness at the scene heard one of the firefighters say, "look, it's got a cock and balls." While the firefighters stood around doing their not ready for prime time act, Tyra's treatment was discontinued for 5 to 7 critical minutes while bystanders pleaded for them to resume treatment. Finally an EMS supervisor arrived and resumed treating Tyra. She was rushed to DC General Hospital where she arrived at 4:10 PM.
But the nightmare was just beginning for Tyra. The DC General Hospital ER staff compounded the insulting neglect of the fire fighters. A doctor refused to treat her and she died of blunt force trauma at 5:20 PM in the now closed hospital's emergency room.

The case alarmed and enraged not only African-American transpeople nationally, but the entire transgender and local African-American community. Over 2,000 people attended her August 12 funeral.