Montgomery County police are investigating two fatal pedestrian crashes that happened three days apart and are asking for the public’s help.
Both crashes involved white Acura TLs, but police say the two hit-and-run crashes are not related.
“There have been several social media posts stating that these two collisions involved the same vehicle and are somehow related,” Assistant Police Chief Marc Yamada told reporters during a news conference Wednesday. “I can definitively say that that is not true.”
Montgomery County police Capt. Warren Jensen said that police were “confident” they had located the car involved in the first of the two collisions on Wednesday morning.
The first fatal collision happened Friday night just after 10 p.m. on Randolph Road near Kimblewick Drive.
According to an earlier news release, police said that the driver of a 2023 Honda Odyssey was headed westbound when the Odyssey went over the curb and hit a man. The pedestrian fell into the roadway where he was hit by a second vehicle, a white four-door Acura.
The driver of the Acura left the scene. It’s that car that police say they found Wednesday morning.
The victim in that collision has been identified as 52-year-old Ronaldo Franzese, of Silver Spring.
The second collision, which occurred just after midnight on Monday, also involved a white Acura TL. In that crash, police say a man riding a skateboard in the roadway on Veirs Mill Road was hit by the white Acura, also traveling westbound. Police said the driver fled the scene.
Jensen said the Honda involved in Monday morning’s crash may have front passenger side damage, including a missing front bumper cover and possibly a missing or broken headlight and fog light assembly.
“This vehicle could be parked somewhere out of sight, it could be parked in a way to hide its damage [or covered with a tarp],” said Jensen.
The man killed in the Veirs Mill Road crash has been identified as 26-year-old Jaques Price, also of Silver Spring.
Jensen, who directs the traffic division for the police department, gave few other details about either investigation, saying they were both “in their infancy.”
When asked about traffic enforcement and the county’s commitment to Vision Zero, a program to eliminate traffic fatalities, Jensen said, “Veirs Mill Road is a tough area that we do focus on a lot.”
He added, “That whole corridor, the Georgia Avenue, University, Veirs Mill (area) is a challenging area and we do continue to work that.”
Police urged anyone with information about either vehicle or the drivers to contact the collision reconstruction unit or call (240) 773-6620.
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