A driver has been arrested and charged in the deaths of a married couple who were walking toward a polling place in Gaithersburg, Maryland, on Election Day when they were hit and killed.
Davinder Singh, 47, was driving his Toyota Prius on School Drive when he hit 65-year-old Miguel Antonio Ortiz and 70-year-old Ana Margarita Ortiz the morning of Nov. 8, 2022, Montgomery County police said.
Medics took the couple to a hospital, where they died. Police said they were using a crosswalk near Fields Road Elementary School at the time of the crash.
Singh was found to be driving under the influence of alcohol, police said.
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Singh faces two felony charges of vehicular homicide while under the influence of alcohol. He was indicted in January and arrested on Feb. 10 after returning from overseas, police said Tuesday.
The couple had four children and nine grandchildren, their son Steven Oritz previously told News4. He said his parents were “the nicest people anyone could meet” and “didn’t deserve this.”
Ana and Miguel Oritz lived in the neighborhood a block from where they were killed for nearly 35 years, Steven Oritz said. They immigrated to the U.S. decades ago and worked hard to become U.S. citizens, according to their son.
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Several shoes and a purse were scattered on the road near a blue Prius with a shattered window after the crash.
"I saw everything. Mama, mama," Nicole Ukiteyedy cried outside of the voting center.
Ukiteyedy said she was preparing handouts for Congressman David Trone when she heard the collision.
"Female screaming, 'Oh my God' and possibly someone dying," a dispatcher said, according to audio obtained by News4.
“It was really loud and the other lady tried to give CPR and I was with the man," Ukiteyedy said.
She said she knew the couple from the neighborhood and believed they were crossing the street to vote.
Lashawn Rankin, who lives near the school, said it is not uncommon for drivers to speed on School Drive.
“Once you come over that hill blind, it's too late to slow down, so most cars try to slow down by the time they come to this crossing walk, but normally, that’s the issue,” Rankin said. “The crossing guard is here during the day, and she does a good job; like I said, we’ve made these complaints before, and hopefully something will be done about it today.”
News4 viewed photos and video Ukiteyedy and other witnesses captured in the minutes after the collision. The graphic images show first responders and others caring for the victims while the driver stood by the car watching.
"He just didn’t move or say anything. Like a statue," one woman told News4.
