This story, originally published at 12 p.m. on Dec. 13, 2023, was updated at 5:03 p.m. on Dec. 14, 2023 to add a statement from Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller (D).
Police identified the driver who struck and killed Eric Lewis, 57, of Washington, D.C., Wednesday morning in a hit-and-run accident in a work zone on the inner loop of Interstate 495 near Georgia Avene in Silver Spring, Maryland State Police said.
Jadien Ranard Jones, 39, of Henrico, Virginia, was driving a white 2021 Freightliner straight truck, police said on Thursday.
Jones told MoCo360 on the phone Thursday that he has no comment at this time.
Police determined that Lewis was the foreman for a mobile tree trimming operation contracted through the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration.
Around 10:15 a.m., the tree trimming crew set up cones along the right shoulder of eastbound I-495, east of Linden Lane, police said. The crew was removing equipment from their work trucks and setting up roadwork signs when Jones swerved into the shoulder, striking multiple traffic cones and Lewis, according to police.
Lewis was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police.
“On behalf of the Governor, and our entire administration, our hearts are heavy with this loss, and our thoughts are with Mr. Lewis’s loved ones,” Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller (D) said in an email statement.
Jones did not stay at the scene, making this a hit-and-run incident, according to police. Police said that Jones’ Freightliner truck was hauling a flatbed with a forklift and missing the right front headlight assembly.
Maryland State Police said that their Crash Team investigators found the truck at The Home Depot Distribution Center in Sparrows Point yesterday and made contact with Jones.
The Crash Team is leading the investigation, and charges against Jones “are pending the outcome of the investigation and consultation with the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office,” police said.
Miller, the chair of Maryland’s Work Zone Safety Work Group, said that her and Gov. Wes Moore’s (D) top priority is to “protect Marylanders,” especially the roadway workers.
“The dedicated men and women who work on our roadways put themselves in harm’s way every day,” Miller said. “The frequency at which they are injured and tragically lose their lives is an unacceptable reality that the Moore Miller administration is working to change.”
She said that over the past eight months, the administration has “developed ways to bring a culture shift to change driver behavior which requires greater education, engineering, and enforcement.”