Updated at 12:45 p.m. on Friday: Montgomery County police are investigating a pedestrian collision involving a police vehicle in Wheaton on Thursday evening.
Police have identified the pedestrian as Ronald De Jesus Ramirez Ramos, 21, of Wheaton. He is expected to survive. The officer driving the vehicle has been identified as Officer Fritz Calderon.
Police said Ramos was transported to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries, while Calderon was not injured. This is the second recent collision involving a police vehicle after a cyclist was struck in Chevy Chase a few weeks ago.
Officers along with Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service personnel responded to the collision involving a marked county police vehicle on Georgia Avenue near Blueridge Avenue at approximately 9:27 p.m., according to police. MCFRS spokesman Pete Piringer reported the collision occurred at Georgia and Arcola avenues. Responding officers provided immediate life-saving aid to Ramos, police said.
A preliminary investigation by the police department’s Collision Reconstruction Unit revealed the police vehicle, a 2016 Ford Taurus, was heading southbound on Georgia Avenue when it struck a man in the roadway. Ramos was not in a crosswalk. Calderon was not responding to an emergency incident and did not have his emergency equipment activated, according to police.
The investigation is ongoing and anyone with information is encouraged to call the Collision Reconstruction Unit at 240-773-6620.
