A pedestrian was nearly killed Saturday night after a driver in a dark-colored Land Rover Discovery struck them in a crosswalk at Ritchie Highway and Magothy Bridge Road in Severna Park and then sped off, according to police. Anne Arundel County police were called to the scene shortly before 10:30 p.m., and investigators have since described the crash as near-fatal.
According to Daily Voice, the Land Rover was traveling north on Ritchie Highway when it struck the pedestrian and, per investigators, the driver left the scene before turning into the nearby Magothy Gateway Shopping Center. Video footage pulled from nearby businesses helped investigators identify the vehicle involved, the outlet reports.
Police are now searching for the SUV and its driver. Investigators say the Land Rover has damage to its right headlight and right front fender, and is missing its front wheel well trim and passenger-side mirror. Officers released a photo of a similar Land Rover Discovery to help the public recognize the make and model, though police stressed that the pictured vehicle itself was not involved in the crash, per the same report.
A Dangerous Stretch With a Deadly Past
This is not the first time this exact intersection has turned deadly. In September 2021, a fatal hit-and-run collision occurred at the same intersection of Ritchie Highway and Magothy Bridge Road, when a dark sedan making a U-turn struck a 52-year-old pedestrian, killing him, and injured an 11-year-old boy on the shoulder, according to a post from Anne Arundel County Police.
The corridor's hazards are not news to state transportation officials. The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration designated Governor Ritchie Highway through Severna Park as a priority corridor under its Pedestrian Safety Action Plan, holding public safety workshops in September 2024 to plan crossing improvements along the route, the agency says in a press release. Even so, Maryland State Highway Administration traffic data shows the road near Magothy Bridge Road still carries roughly 38,000 vehicles a day with posted speeds up to 45 mph, a combination that creates serious challenges for anyone trying to cross on foot.
A Highway Built for Speed, Not Crossings
Anne Arundel County government records show that residents have long raised concerns about unsafe pedestrian crossings and complicated commercial turning movements into the Magothy Gateway Shopping Center along this stretch of Ritchie Highway. The road itself has a layered history: originally built in 1939 as Maryland's first dual-lane highway and once envisioned as a landscaped parkway, Governor Ritchie Highway has since grown into a densely developed commercial corridor, according to county records.
Statewide, the stakes for pedestrians struck by vehicles are stark. Per the Maryland Highway Safety Office's Zero Deaths MD initiative, roughly 92% of pedestrian-involved crashes in Maryland result in injury or death, and pedestrians account for nearly one in four traffic fatalities in the state each year.
Investigation Continues, Legal Exposure Is Steep
The case remains under investigation by the Anne Arundel County Police Department's Traffic Safety Section, which handles serious and near-fatal hit-and-run cases with support from a specialized Crash Reconstruction Team within the department's Special Operations Division, as Hoodline has reported previously.
If identified and charged, the driver would face serious legal consequences. Under Maryland Transportation Code § 20-102, fleeing the scene of a crash the driver knows or reasonably suspects caused serious bodily injury is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine, according to legal statutes. Maryland law under § 20-104 also required the driver to render reasonable aid to the injured pedestrian, including calling for emergency help or arranging transport to a hospital. Beyond criminal penalties, a hit-and-run conviction carries 12 points on the driver's record with the Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration, triggering mandatory license revocation, per legal experts.
Anne Arundel County police are asking anyone with information about the vehicle or driver to call the Traffic Safety Section at 410-222-8573. The crash remains under active investigation.
