A 27-year-old man died after a driver struck him and sped off early Sunday morning on the 19600 block of Fisher Avenue in Poolesville, leaving Montgomery County police searching for a vehicle and a suspect who has not been found. The hit-and-run happened around 2 a.m. near a McDonald's and Cattail Road, according to police, blocking some lanes as emergency crews worked the scene.
Montgomery County Department of Police First District officers and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services personnel responded to the reported collision, treating the pedestrian as a Priority 1 trauma patient with life-threatening injuries before rushing him to an area hospital, according to The MoCo Show. Police said the driver did not remain at the scene, and as of Sunday morning the vehicle had not been located. FOX 5 DC reports that officers are actively searching for the driver and that the 27-year-old victim later died at the hospital.
A Felony Under Maryland Law
Fleeing the scene of a crash that causes serious bodily injury is not a minor traffic infraction in Maryland — it is a felony. Under Maryland Transportation Code § 20-102, the specified felony provision applies when a driver knew or reasonably should have known that a crash might cause serious bodily injury, failed to remain at the scene, and serious bodily injury actually occurred; such a driver faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $5,000, according to Justia Law. The statute raises the legal stakes considerably for whoever was behind the wheel near Fisher Avenue early Sunday.
Fisher Avenue is in Poolesville.
Federal Dollars Once Targeted This Stretch
The Town of Poolesville received a $4,000,000 grant after an early-2022 grant package for the Fisher Avenue Streetscape Project, an effort aimed at upgrading conditions along the town's central commercial strip.
Countywide, Montgomery County recorded 232 pedestrian-involved crashes in the first six months of 2026, resulting in 26 suspected serious injuries and 9 fatalities — a 12% increase compared to the same period in 2025, per county Vision Zero data.
Part of a Grim Late-Summer Pattern
Sunday's crash adds to a string of severe pedestrian incidents across Montgomery County in recent months. In June, an adult woman died after being struck in a hit-and-run on Colesville Road in Silver Spring.
It remains unclear whether surveillance cameras near the McDonald's or Cattail Road captured any details about the vehicle involved, and Montgomery County police have not said whether investigators have identified a suspect vehicle.
