Maryland

Suspect Faces Manslaughter, DUI Charges After Fatal Hit-and-Run in Laurel: Police

A man accused of striking and killing a pedestrian and then fleeing the scene of the crash in Laurel, Maryland, was driving under the influence, police say.

Laurel police officers responded to the crash at the intersection of Gorman Avenue and Eleventh Street about 10:45 p.m. Saturday and found a man suffering from multiple injuries. The man died a short time later at the hospital.

A witness told police the car that struck the man was possibly a white or gray four-door sedan and an accident reconstruction officer found a vehicle part at the scene that belonged to a Toyota Corolla. 

A short time later, an officer received a tip from someone who saw a white Corolla with front-end damage and a broken windshield stopped on the shoulder of southbound Interstate 95. The car had already driven away by the time officers responded, but the witness got the license plate number.

Officers traced the plate to an address in Silver Spring where they stopped the vehicle and detained 30-year-old Misael Edgardo Cruz Celis.

"Numerous pieces of evidence were located on the vehicle and the driver later admitted his involvement in the fatal hit and run," police said in a news release.

Celis was arrested and taken to a medical facility before he was taken to the Department of Corrections, police said.

He faces charges of vehicular manslaughter, DUI and hit-and-run.

In the news release, Laurel police thanked the "sharp-eyed citizens" who gave them information.

Police have not yet identified the victim of the crash.

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