Forum Addresses Fatal Pedestrian Crashes in Germantown, Gaithersburg

Advocacy group plans to host forum at Germantown Library on Jan. 26

Deadly crashes involving pedestrians in Germantown and Gaithersburg will be addressed at a public forum at Germantown Library later this month. The Action Committee for Transit (ACT) is hosting the event on Jan. 26, the transit advocacy group announced Wednesday. Barbara McCann, founder of the National Complete Streets Coalition, is the guest speaker. The forum was spurred by deadly collisions involving pedestrians upcounty. Germantown high school student Christina Morris-Ward was struck and killed by a car while crossing Germantown Road on her way to Seneca Valley High School on Oct. 31, 2012. In November, Yessenia Martinez Rivas was killed crossing Muddy Branch Road in Gaithersburg. The event also will address a Clarksburg neighborhood’s…

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Pedestrian Struck by Vehicle in Germantown Tuesday Night

Collision occured at Clopper Road and Village Fountain Drive

A pedestrian was struck by a vehicle on Clopper Road and Village Fountain Drive on Tuesday night. Specific details about the victim and the circumstances behind the crash were unavailable Wednesday. A Montgomery County police spokesperson said the pedestrian was hospitalized. At around 7:42 p.m., emergency responders were dispatched to the 13400 block of Clopper Road at Village Fountain Drive, according to Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service spokesman Assist. Cpt. Scott Graham. Police spokeswoman Angela Cruz said southbound Clopper Road was shut down, from Germantown Road (Route 118) to Village Fountain Drive, for less than an hour. The scene was cleared at 9 p.m. Cruz said police collision reconstruction unit did not respond to the …

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Transit Advocate: More is Needed to Make Germantown Road Safer

In light of the recent death of Germantown teen, Action Committee for Transit board member says speed cameras, signs and ‘culture change’ could help improve pedestrian safety

The vice president of a Montgomery County-based transit advocacy group says speed cameras and a change in “driver culture” were needed to improve pedestrian safety on Germantown Road, where a teen pedestrian was fatally struck by a car. "Lots of people say she was killed because she was careless—if she had waited for the walk signal, crossed in the cross walk and watched out for traffic, she would still be alive,” said Miriam Schoenbaum, who was speaking during a meeting of the Action Council for Transit on Tuesday in Silver Spring. “She was killed because our society believes the convenience of drivers is more important than the lives of pedestrians," Schoenbaum said. Germantown Road (MD 118) is a state-owned roadway that sweeps past …

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Today: 'Rocking for Tina' Vigil at Seneca Valley High School

A candlelight vigil at 5:30 p.m. tonight will honor the life of Christina Morris-Ward, a Seneca Valley High School sophomore who died last week.

UPDATED: Off-Duty Officer Struck By Vehicle in Germantown

Montgomery County Police Officer Fabio Chung was helping out at a crash scene at the time of the crash

(Updated 11:45 p.m.) An off-duty police officer helping at the scene of a crash was struck by a vehicle that slid off a Germantown off-ramp Tuesday, according to police. Montgomery County Police Officer Fabio Chung was on the ramp from eastbound Route 118 onto southbound Interstate 270 when another vehicle slid off the roadway and struck him and his unmarked cruiser, Montgomery County Police said in a press release late Tuesday. Police said Chung was treated at an area hospital. No other injuries were reported from the scene, police said. Prior to the crash Maryland State Police received a report of a disabled bus on the ramp at around 5:15 p.m., a duty officer with the Rockville barrack told Patch. State police said the bus dispensed oil …

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