COLESVILLE, Md. — Montgomery County police are asking for the public’s help as they try to piece together the events that preceded a pair of crashes that left one person dead last week.
The two crashes are related, investigators said Tuesday. The crashes happened at the same time on the morning of June 17 in the Olney area near the intersection of Randolph Road and New Hampshire Avenue.
“Both vehicles were traveling on Randolph Road at a high rate of speed,” said Sgt. Nick Picerno. “The movements of one vehicle influenced the movement of another.”
In one of the crashes, a Toyota Camry driven by 71-year-old Victoria Hitchins, of Rockville, went off the road and hit a tree. Hitchins was pronounced dead at the scene.
The other crash involved a Mercury Mountaineer driven by Ousmane Barry, 20. The Mountaineer left the road and hit a utility pole. Barry was taken into custody, given a drug test and was released.
Police are still awaiting the results of that test, and they are hoping to speak to anyone who saw the vehicles or the collisions.
“We do believe that there are additional witnesses out there,” Picerno said. “We are also reviewing business surveillance video.”
Investigators said they are paying close attention to where Barry’s SUV was located in the hours leading up to the crashes. They believe the Mountaineer might have been at the scene of a robbery in the Northwood area of Silver Spring about 7 hours before the crashes.
The black Mercury Mountaineer had a busted back window from a previous incident, and the damage was covered by plastic wrap taped to the exterior of the vehicle. That plastic wrap would have made the SUV very recognizable, investigators said.
“We’re asking for anybody who may have seen that vehicle to please contact us,” said Detective Sgt. Paul Reese.
Police ask anyone with information to call the Collision Reconstruction Unit at 240-773-6620.
The post Links to robbery probed in fatal Colesville crash appeared first on WTOP.
