A man is dead after a driver struck him overnight on Laurel-Bowie Road in South Laurel and then fled the scene, according to Prince George's County police. Officers responding to a crash involving a pedestrian near Laurel-Bowie Road and Briarcroft Lane found the man already down in the roadway, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The vehicle that hit him was long gone by the time investigators arrived.
Police have not released the victim's name or age, nor have they described the vehicle they are looking for, according to DC News Now. Investigators are still working to determine exactly how the crash happened, and Laurel-Bowie Road was temporarily shut down in both directions between Briarcroft Lane and Briarwood Drive as crews worked the scene. Officials are asking anyone with information to call police at 301-731-4422.
A Familiar and Deadly Stretch of Road
Laurel-Bowie Road is also known as Maryland Route 197. The corridor has also seen tragedy: a two-vehicle collision near Old Laurel Bowie Road left one person dead and another seriously injured but not in life-threatening condition, as reported by FOX 5 DC.
This is not an isolated case. Just eight days earlier, county police responded to another fatal pedestrian hit-and-run, this one in the 6300 block of Allentown Road in Camp Springs, where an adult man died and the driver also fled, a case Hoodline covered in its report from Camp Springs. A fatal hit-and-run in Temple Hills also involved an unidentified driver.
Traffic Fatalities in Prince George's County
Prince George's County recorded 97 traffic deaths in 2025. Countywide traffic deaths fell from 140 in 2023 to 97 in 2025, mirroring a Washington-area decline from pandemic-era peaks, per the Washington Post.
The county's Vision Zero program aims to eliminate roadway fatalities and severe injuries by 2030, using a High Injury Network map that flags one-mile corridors with the worst pedestrian crash histories to steer safety investments. Whether Laurel-Bowie Road's latest fatality will factor into those plans remains to be seen, but the corridor's recent history underscores the stakes.
Investigation Continues as Driver Remains at Large
The Prince George's County Police Department's Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit is investigating the fatal hit-and-run.
Under Maryland Transportation Code § 20-102 and § 20-104, leaving the scene of a crash that results in death is a felony, carrying up to 10 years in prison, fines as high as $10,000, and an automatic 12-point license revocation if the driver is caught. Residents can also contact Crime Solvers.
