This post was updated Monday at 8:55 a.m. to reflect the identity of the victim and additional information
A pedestrian was killed early Saturday after being struck by two cars in the Burnt Mills area of Silver Spring, according to a news release from the Montgomery County Police Department. On Sunday, police revealed the victim to be Zelalem Yirga Adamu, 40, of Laurel.
Adamu was struck around 1:50 a.m. by a red 2015 Lexus ES300h and a black 2021 Jeep Grand Cherokee traveling north on Columbia Pike, just south of Hillwood Drive, the investigation found. The driver of the Lexus remained at the scene after the collision. The other driver left and reported the collision hours later at a police station, according to police.
This was the fourth reported incident this year in which a pedestrian died due to a collision with a motor vehicle in the county, according to Data Montgomery. Teklu Bushen Siba, 75, of Silver Spring was killed March 16 in the White Oak area of Silver Spring. Sterling David Brown, 67, of Montgomery Village, was fatally struck Feb. 1 in Montgomery Village. Ruth Naomi Bermudez-Chavez, 22, was killed Feb. 5 in Aspen Hill.
Saturday was also the occasion of a “ghost bike placement” at Georgia Avenue and Janet Road to memorialize William Villavicencio, a bicyclist killed in a hit-and-run accident in October 2022.
According to a 2022 county report, there were 33 fatal collisions in 2021, 39 in 2020, and 32 in 2019. Last year, there were as many as 40 fatal collisions in Montgomery County.
To increase road safety and reduce the number of such incidents, Montgomery County launched the Vision Zero initiative, which aims to reduce and eventually eliminate serious and fatal crashes among pedestrians, cyclists and motorists by 2030.
The Collision Reconstruction Unit is investigating Saturday morning’s collision. Officials ask anyone with information to contact CRU detectives at 240-773-6620.