Gaithersburg

1 Elderly Pedestrian Dead, Another Critically Injured in Gaithersburg Crash

NBC Universal, Inc.

An elderly pedestrian is dead, and another is critically injured after a crash in Gaithersburg, Maryland, on Wednesday, authorities say.  

Two elderly people, a man and a woman, were hit at Muddy Branch Road and King James Way at about 2:30 p.m., Montgomery County Police said.

They were transported to a local hospital for their injuries, but the man did not survive. Their identities were not immediately released.

The driver stayed at the scene and cooperated with investigators.

Jose Lopez works at the Montgomery Club Apartments, a complex near the site of the crash. He said he saw the aftermath of the collision before police arrived on scene.

“I was hoping and praying for them to be at least alive," he said. "There were a lot of people trying to do CPR on them, but unfortunately with one of them it didn’t work.”

Muddy Branch Road was closed following the crash, with numerous police officers at the scene near a crosswalk.

It's not yet clear what led up to the crash. A public information officer for Montgomery County Police said investigators are still determining whether the two people who were struck were in the crosswalk at the time.

"We do know that when they were struck they were on the roadway," said Officer Cortez. "We know that there's a crosswalk nearby, but we do not know at this time whether or not they were crossing the roadway on the crosswalk."

It is also not yet known whether the two victims were related to one another.

Some people who live or work in the area told News4 that they’ve seen some close calls on Muddy Branch Road, as cars speed past pedestrians walking in the crosswalk.

Rosa Ticas, who lives at the apartment complex, said some drivers don’t respect the pedestrians’ right of way.

She and others say more needs to be done.

“If they could reduce the speed that would help a lot, because there’s many accidents that have happened here before," Lopez said.

Police are working to investigate the cause of the crash.

This is a developing story. Stay with News4 for more updates.

Contact Us