Silver Spring man charged in connection with fatal hit-and-run

June 3 collision occurred on University Boulevard East in Takoma Park

July 19, 2024 9:02 p.m.

A Silver Spring man has been charged in connection with a June 3 hit-and-run in Takoma Park that killed a 42-year-old man, according to Montgomery County police.

Efrain Diaz Romero, 34, is facing charges of “failure to immediately return and remain at the scene of an accident involving death, and several other traffic-related” offenses in the death of Candido Noe Rojas Rojas, 42, of Takoma Park, police said Friday in a statement.

Diaz Romero is being held without bond at the county’s Central Processing Unit in Rockville. No court records for Romero could be found online Friday.

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According to police, Takoma Park officers and Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS) crews responded shortly after 1 a.m. June 3 to a report of “a man lying in the roadway with head injuries” in the area of the 1100 block of University Boulevard East near Anne Street. The location is near the Mega Mart Latino Supermarket on University Boulevard East.

After officers found Rojas Rojas lying in the eastbound lanes of the road, he was transported to a local hospital where he was pronounced dead, according to police. An autopsy conducted by the Office of the Medical Examiner in Washington, D.C., determined that his injuries were “likely caused by a vehicle,” police said.

Detectives determined that Rojas Rojas was struck by a westbound vehicle that then “fled the scene on Lebanon Street into Prince George’s County,” according to police.

The vehicle was described by police as a black Chevrolet Silverado 1500 Extended Cab pickup truck, possibly of a model year between 1999-2006, with possible minor damage to its left side due to the collision.

During an investigation, police said detectives located the Chevrolet and identified Diaz Romero as the suspect in the hit-and-run.

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