Wednesday, Dec. 5, 2007

No charges filed in last week’s hit-and-run death

Police now believe a third car was involved in Gaithersburg crash, victim’s brother says

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Photo courtesy of Rapid City (S.D.) Journal
Ron Bender, pictured here at his desk at the Rapid City (S.D.) Journal, was killed Nov. 26 when he was crossing a street in Gaithersburg.
Police are still looking for leads on finding a second vehicle in connection with the hit-and-run death of a 64-year-old pedestrian in Gaithersburg last week, and the victim’s brother says a third car may have also been involved.

Stanley Bender said Monday night that Montgomery County Police have told him that they’re ‘‘still developing leads” but have ‘‘minimal information” on two other vehicles.

‘‘They’re sure of one more and they’re fairly sure of \another,” he said from South Dakota in a telephone interview Monday night. Bender said he planned to attend a memorial service Tuesday then decide where to bury his brother’s remains.

His brother Ronald Bender, a retired newspaper editor from Rapid City, S.D., was killed just after 5:30 p.m. Nov. 26 as he crossed Route 355 to buy groceries at the Walnut Hill Shopping Center, near the intersection of South Westland Drive, in front of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church.

Acting on a witness’ tip, police were initially searching for a 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse, but found the car the following morning and determined it was not the first vehicle to hit Bender.

The driver of the Mitsubishi did not provide a description of the other vehicle, said Sgt. Meredith Dominick of the police department’s Collision Reconstruction Unit.

Lt. Porsha Jones, director of the Media Services Division for county police, said she had not been given any new information on the investigation since Nov. 27, including whether there has been outreach to other jurisdictions or whether any charges have been filed against the first driver.

A spokesman for the Montgomery County State’s Attorney said the office is investigating the crash.

Ronald Bender was in Gaithersburg for his brother’s wedding at Good Shepherd Church. He was the best man.

Bender retired from the Rapid City (S.D.) Journal in May after 38 years, where he had been a reporter and editor.

He was cremated at the Good Shepherd church on Friday, his brother said. He is survived by his wife and two children, his brother, six grandchildren, a stepdaughter and a stepson.

The family, which hails from Eureka, S.D., has been coping as best it can, Stanley Bender said.

‘‘They are good German Lutheran stock, and they bear hardship fairly well,” he said.

Police have not said what caused the crash.

Roughly three hours after the Gaithersburg crash, 61-year-old Husnara Ashraf was killed at the intersection of Rt. 118 and Crystal Rock Drive in Germantown as she walked to her home nearby after buying groceries.

The driver in that crash, 47-year-old Ilad Dahan of Montgomery Village, remained at the scene, cooperated with the investigation and went home with friends that night. The State’s Attorney’s Office is also investigating the incident.

Turning onto Route 118 from Crystal Rock Drive, Boyds resident Flynn Ficker said he nearly hit Ashraf as she hurried across Route 118 with an armful of groceries.

‘‘I didn’t see her. She was wearing a black coat, and it was very dark,” he said. ‘‘It was raining and windy and I believe she tried to make a go for it because of the weather.”

He said he saw the collision in his rearview mirror.

The two deaths last week were the 14th and 15th pedestrian fatalities in Montgomery County this year. A woman killed Monday night in at the Twinbrook Metro station brings the number to 16.

Eighteen pedestrians were killed last year in the county.

‘‘What I’ve noticed is that this time of the year is a particularly dangerous time of the year for pedestrians,” said County Council Vice President Phil Andrews, chairman of the council’s public safety committee.

To tackle the problem, the county has taken a ‘‘comprehensive approach” over the last few years, he said: promoting pedestrian education, adding timers to more crosswalks and running ‘‘pedestrian stings,” where police pose as pedestrians to see if drivers stop for them.

But in the end, it comes down to drivers and pedestrians being more conscientious and careful, he said.

‘‘There are a lot of things that need to occur to improve pedestrian safety in the county,” Andrews said. ‘‘... It is very hard to change behavior and people are tempted to cross in the middle of streets. Drivers need to be very careful. People need to protect themselves as best they can. Unfortunately, a lot of pedestrians don’t observe all those safety measures.”

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