Victims Identified in Md. Hit-and-Run
The front grill of the Toyota 4Runner left behind during a hit-and-run in Montgomery County that injured two pedestrians.
(Courtesy Montgomery County Police Department.)
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Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Family members of two pedestrians dragged more than 80 feet by a hit-and-run driver in Montgomery County pleaded Monday for witnesses to call police and for the driver to surrender.
Police said the driver left behind a big clue: The front grill of the Toyota 4Runner.
The victims, Maria Estela Argueta, 22, and Rosibel Pereira, 29, are housecleaners who were crossing the street from a completed job to a new one, family members said. They had broken bones but are expected to survive.
According to the preliminary investigation, Argueta and Pereira were trying to cross Capitol View Avenue at Leafy Avenue in Silver Spring shortly after 10 a.m. A black Toyota 4Runner, traveling east on Capitol View, plowed into the women, police said.
The sport-utility vehicle dragged Argueta 113 feet and then ran over her, police said. It dragged Pereira 83 feet before she fell off, police said. Investigators think both women were in the crosswalk when they were hit.
Family members said the victims remained hospitalized Monday. Pereira has a broken right femur and a fractured rib, said her husband, Luis Argueta. The couple, from El Salvador, have two boys, ages 2 and 4. "My sons are missing her very much," Argueta said through a translator.
The other victim, Maria Estela Argueta (who is not related to Luis Argueta), had a broken pelvis, bruised liver and bruises on her legs, stomach and face, said Santos Argueta, her brother. He said his sister sends part of her earnings to her sister in El Salvador, who cares for three children. The sister's husband, a former police officer, was killed.
"She's a very hardworking person," Santos Argueta said.
Police urge anyone with information about the collision, the striking vehicle or the driver to call 301-279-8000. Callers may remain anonymous.
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