UPDATED: Pedestrian Struck Near River Road
UPDATE 9:10 a.m. A pedestrian was struck just before 8 a.m. today in the 5200 block of Saratoga Avenue and is in serious condition, according to police.
A medevac helicopter landed near the Westbard Shopping Center to transport the adult female victim to the Baltimore Shock Trauma Center.
Police are on the scene and are starting their investigation at the corner of Saratoga Avenue and Westport Road, in a neighborhood just north of River Road. Both roads are closed.
Police say the vehicle involved stayed on scene.
UPDATED: Police Apprehend Theft Suspect
UPDATE 3:05 p.m. Police have apprehended the theft suspect and are processing him. More details won’t be known until the call is closed out, according to a police spokesman.
ORIGINAL Montgomery County Police this morning are searching the neighborhood near Cheltenham Drive and Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School for a theft suspect. A spokesman confirmed the theft occurred, but did not have information on the search.
The theft happened at about 10:28 a.m. the Midas auto care location at 4725 Cheltenham Dr. just east of Wisconsin Avenue.
According to scanner information, the suspect, a black male in a blue jacket, khaki pants and with a blue backpack, attempted to use stolen credit cards at the Midas.
A Midas employees called it in and the suspect fled. Police called in a K-9 unit to help search backyards of homes on Harling Lane and police remain on the scene on Pearl Street and Sleaford Road.
An employee at Midas declined to speak with a reporter about the incident and didn’t confirm information on the scanner that said the suspect’s car remained at the shop.
Chemical Spill Causes Evacuation Of MacArthur Boulevard Navy Medical Building
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services has evacuated a building of the National Military Medical Center’s Carderock Clinic at 9500 MacArthur Boulevard after a chemical spill, according to Fire spokeswoman Beth Anne Nesselt.
Building 60, which holds a Navy Medical cardiac unit, was evacuated around 11:30 a.m. after an unknown chemical was spilled in the loading dock area, Nesselt said.
MCFRS is currently isolating the area and shutting down HVAC units inside the building.
Nesselt said Hazmat units will arrive at the scene to determine what type of chemical spilled, how much of it spilled and what steps to take next.
UPDATED: Old Georgetown Road Pedestrian Collision Leaves Man In Critical Condition
UPDATED at 12:35 p.m. A 59-year-old man was hit by a car near the intersection of southbound Old Georgetown Road and Alta Vista Road around 9:37 a.m. and is now in serious condition, according to Montgomery County Police.
A witness to the incident said the man, who police have identified as William George Cole of an unconfirmed address, appeared to be holding a book while stepping into southbound traffic from the curb near the Wyngate Medical facility.
“I just looked in my rearview mirror and I saw a man take a step off the curb and he appeared to be holding a book. And the car hit him very hard and he was just airborne and very, very badly injured,” said Elizabeth Riel. “All I saw was him holding a book in his hand, he took a step off the curb and the car immediately hit him. It was just very quick. It happened very quickly.
“[The driver] was very concerned and tried to help,” she said. “Labored breathing, face down, barely moved.”
The driver, 52-year-old Remy Jean Pascal Bosselut of the 6000 block of Chatsworth Lane in Bethesda, stayed on the scene and is cooperating with police, Police spokesman Capt. Paul Starks said. Starks said it appears the pedestrian was crossing not at a crosswalk but mid-block through six lanes of traffic. The investigation is ongoing.
Cole remains in serious condition and is undergoing treatment, police said in a press release this afternoon.
Southbound Old Georgetown Road was closed between Alta Vista Road and Beech Avenue and has since been reopened.
It is the second pedestrian collision in Bethesda in two days and the fourth in Montgomery County in two days.
Police Search Chevy Chase For Suicidal Man Monday Night
Montgomery County Police tonight used K-9 units and a helicopter to track down and apprehend a man thought to be a suicide risk, according to the Town of Chevy Chase and police scanner traffic.
The search began around 8 p.m. as police called in a helicopter unit to help find the man, who was believed to be in the area of Connecticut Avenue and East-West Highway. The man was found on the front porch of a home in the area after 8:30 p.m., according to scanner traffic.
The man was not taken into custody until 10:04 p.m. A police alert at 10:09 p.m. from the Town of Chevy Chase confirmed the man was put into custody and police were taking him to a nearby hospital.
Metro Worker Struck In Accident On Rockville Pike
(UPDATED: 11:08 a.m.) A Metro worker was struck and his truck damaged in an accident this morning near the intersection of Rockville Pike and Grosvenor Lane.
The worker, who sustained leg injuries according to police scanner traffic, was transported to Suburban Hospital. The car hit the worker at about 40 miles per hour, according to scanner traffic. The worker never lost consciousness after he was hit around 10:30 a.m. while working near a Metro cherry picker truck. Metro supervisors were on their way to the scene.
Two lanes of northbound Rockville Pike at Grosvenor Lane were temporarily blocked off, now all three lanes are getting by. The driver of the car involved remained on the scene.
UPDATED: Police Searching Capital Crescent Trail For Rape Suspect
(UPDATED: 12:15 p.m.) Montgomery County police are searching the Capital Crescent Trail for a man who reportedly matches the description of a suspect in a rape on the Trail last year.
There was no sexual assault today, as we first reported. Officer Janelle Smith, a spokeswoman for MCPD, said somebody tipped off police to a man who looked similar to a composite sketch of the suspect in the October incident.
At 11:39 a.m. today, police were called to search the Trail near the Arlington Road entrance for a Hispanic male with a mustache, riding an old-fashion bicycle reportedly toward downtown Bethesda. Police were searching the trail in both directions on Tuesday.
Police said a man riding a bicycle was seen in the area of the Trail between MacArthur Bouelvard and Massachusetts Avenue on the night of Oct. 21, when the sexual assault took place.
UPDATED: Gas Leak Shuts Down Arlington Road Near Downtown Bethesda
(UPDATE: 3:10 p.m.) The Gazette reports the gas leak has been sealed and Arlington Road has been reopened.
(ORIGINAL STORY: 12:10 p.m.) A punctured gas line in front of the old Bethesda Post Office on Arlington Road had closed the busy street in both directions and forced Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services to evacuate all businesses in the area.
A construction worker doing advance work before the planned teardown of the Post Office reportedly punctured a two-inch gas line in front of the property at 7001 Arlington Road.
Arlington Road is closed from Bethesda Avenue to Bradley Boulevard and MCFRS personnel have also closed westbound Bethesda Avenue at Arlington Road.
A Washington Gas crew arrived at the scene around 12:30 p.m. Avoid the area, as repair work is expected to take at least the next few hours.
UPDATED: Driver Kills Himself On I-270 In Bethesda During Traffic Stop
(UPDATED) A man shot and killed himself on Friday after a state trooper pulled him over for not wearing a seatbelt on northbound I-270, according to Maryland State Police.
State Police are still trying to identify the man, who they say pulled over on the right shoulder prior to Montrose Road without incident shortly after 4 p.m.
When the state trooper exited his vehicle, he heard a gun shot, police said. The trooper returned to his vehicle and requested back up, according to police. The trooper gave verbal commands to the driver but he did not respond.
Back up arrived and the troopers approached the car and found the driver dead with a gunshot wound to his upper torso and a handgun near the center console of his 1997 Ford Focus.
The subsequent investigation caused traffic backups onto the Beltway and forced traffic onto northbound Rockville Pike, as police vehicles took up the three right lanes just after the Beltway/I-270 spur.
Police said the body will be transported to Baltimore for an autopsy and the victim’s name will not be released until he is positively identified and the family is notified.
Photo via TrafficLand.com.
UPDATED: Firefighters Battle Brush Fires Along I-270
(UPDATED: 3:00 p.m.) Montgomery County firefighters put out a series of brush fires that began along the right side of northbound I-270 this afternoon and threatened nearby townhomes.
The fires began at about 1 p.m. and stretched almost half a mile from the Beltway and Rockville Pike exits onto I-270 to Old Georgetown Road. At 2:50 p.m, MCFRS officials reported a fire near townhomes on Englishman Drive had been completely put out.
The fires have caused a significant traffic delay as all three lanes of I-270 North and the ramp from Rockville Pike remain closed. Cars are getting by in a single lane of traffic on the right shoulder.
MCFRS officials on the scene requested the fire marshall to help investigate what started the fires. There were no reported auto fires along I-270 at the time the fire started.
There were fires on each side of the Grosvenor Lane overpass. Firefighters requested an ambulance unit as a precaution, but nobody was reported injured.
Shoppes of Bethesda Evacuated Because Of Strong Chemical Odor
Update at 1:40 p.m. – MCFRS has given the all-clear and officials are allowing people back into their businesses.
Original story: MCFRS and MCPD officials have evacuated the Shoppes of Bethesda strip mall on Hampden Lane after workers in the Montgomery County liquor store (4920 Hampden Lane) reported a strong chemical odor.
MCFRS officials believe the odor was brought into the liquor store through the HVAC system. Workers were on the roof with chemical products.
One person on the scene was feeling ill from the odor but did not want to go to the hospital.
Hampden Lane between Woodmont Avenue and Arlington Road is closed. MCFRS officials are running tests inside the liquor store.
UPDATED: Woman, Dogs Found Dead in Home
Updated at 9:05 a.m. — MCPD Animal Services Division Capt. Michael Wahl said three dead dogs were found inside the home. Veterinarians at a local animal hospital decided to euthanize another because of its severely emaciated and anemic state.
Wahl said the six surviving dogs, all shih tzu, were also found to be emaciated and anemic but were treated and are expected to recover.
Police and the Montgomery County Humane Society will determine whether there is any next of kin interested in taking the dogs before putting them through the adoption process.
Updated at 8:20 a.m. — Assistant Chief Scott Graham, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman, confirmed a woman was found dead inside a home in the 9400 block of Corsica Drive shortly after 11 p.m. on Tuesday night.
Graham said police are investigating the incident, but don’t believe the woman died from carbon monoxide poisoning. Animal Control did assist authorities by removing animals from the home.
Montgomery County Fire and Rescue has responded to a house on the 9400 block of Corsica Drive in Bethesda, where a woman and several dogs have reportedly been found dead.
The incident was initially thought to to be a case of carbon monoxide poisoning, but now officials believe the woman might have died of natural causes. Ten dogs were found in the home, we’re told — three are dead and seven are alive. The surviving dogs are now in the care of Montgomery County animal services personnel, and are expected to be brought in for emergency veterinary treatment.
First responders are describing the house as filthy, possibly as a result of hoarding.
