Fleeing Driver Turns Himself Over to Police

Hyattsville Man Hit Five on Route 29, Fled Scene

A Hyattsville man accused of fleeing the scene of a fatal crash yesterday in Burtonsville turned himself in shortly after midnight, Montgomery County police said.

Manuel De Jesus Gonzalez-Geronimo, 31, was driving a van that pinned five construction workers against a guardrail at approximately 1 p.m. yesterday on Route 29, near the Howard County line, police said.

Gonzalez-Geronimo ran from the scene after the crash, but later turned himself in to Prince George's County police. He was charged with fleeing the scene of a fatal collision and fleeing the scene of a crash that resulted in bodily injury. He was being held this morning on a $150,000 bond.

The five male construction workers were sitting on the guardrail along the northbound lanes of Columbia Pike, also known as Route 29. "It appears they were just sitting there minding their business," said Officer Rodney Barnes, a police spokesman.

Three construction trucks were parked on the right shoulder of the road. A man driving a white Ford Econoline 150 van struck one of the trucks, causing a chain reaction that involved at least one other truck and a cement mixer. The van veered right and hit the workers.

Martin Ruffin, 30, of Baltimore was pronounced dead at the scene. James Cronin, 37, of Glen Burnie suffered injuries that police said might be life-threatening.

Three more workers were taken to hospitals in less-serious condition, police said.