2 pedestrians killed crossing roads after dark

A 64-year-old man was killed in a hit-and-run in Gaithersburg at 5:45 p.m. on Monday while crossing South Frederick Avenue, going toward the Walnut Hill Shopping Center. Ronald Bender, of South Dakota, was the managing editor at the Rapid City Journal and retired this summer after 38 years with the newspaper. He was in Maryland to be the best man in his brother’s wedding, which was held Saturday.

“He was fixing a Tex-Mex dinner for [my wife and me] and went out walking to get olives,” his brother, Stan Bender, said Tuesday.

Police say Bender was hit by at least two vehicles. A witness saw a 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse convertible strike Bender and drive away. After the police located the driver Tuesday and examined the convertible, they determined that Bender must have been struck by at least one other car. They are still investigating and ask that anyone with information call the Montgomery County Police Department at 301-840-2435.

The other pedestrian killed Monday was Husnara Ashraf, 61, of Germantown. She was hit by a car while crossing Germantown Road at the intersection with Crystal Rock Drive. She was taken to an area hospital, where she died. Both incidents occurred after dark, though police say there were street lights in the areas.

“Pedestrians need to be careful and use crosswalks,” Cpl. Jimmy Robinson, spokesman for the Montgomery County Police Department, said. “It’s always a matter of pedestrians not using crosswalks or not judging the speed of the car correctly.”

The pedestrian death that happened last Wednesday has been described as a freak accident by police. Norma Almeraya-Soria, 35, of Silver Spring, was standing near the Bank of America at 11499 Columbia Pike. The rear wheels separated from a tractor-trailer truck turning onto Columbia Pike, causing the trailer to lose control and hit Almeraya-Soria.