UPDATED at 12:35 p.m. A 59-year-old man was hit by a car near the intersection of southbound Old Georgetown Road and Alta Vista Road around 9:37 a.m. and is now in serious condition, according to Montgomery County Police.
A witness to the incident said the man, who police have identified as William George Cole of an unconfirmed address, appeared to be holding a book while stepping into southbound traffic from the curb near the Wyngate Medical facility.
“I just looked in my rearview mirror and I saw a man take a step off the curb and he appeared to be holding a book. And the car hit him very hard and he was just airborne and very, very badly injured,” said Elizabeth Riel. “All I saw was him holding a book in his hand, he took a step off the curb and the car immediately hit him. It was just very quick. It happened very quickly.
“[The driver] was very concerned and tried to help,” she said. “Labored breathing, face down, barely moved.”
The driver, 52-year-old Remy Jean Pascal Bosselut of the 6000 block of Chatsworth Lane in Bethesda, stayed on the scene and is cooperating with police, Police spokesman Capt. Paul Starks said. Starks said it appears the pedestrian was crossing not at a crosswalk but mid-block through six lanes of traffic. The investigation is ongoing.
Cole remains in serious condition and is undergoing treatment, police said in a press release this afternoon.
Southbound Old Georgetown Road was closed between Alta Vista Road and Beech Avenue and has since been reopened.
It is the second pedestrian collision in Bethesda in two days and the fourth in Montgomery County in two days.
