An 88-year-old woman died Wednesday as a result of injuries she sustained Saturday in a two-vehicle collision in Gaithersburg involving an 18-year-old driver, Montgomery County police said Thursday in a statement.
Myrtle Gottlieb of Rockville was a passenger in a blue 2017 Toyota Corolla that was stopped at a red traffic light at the intersection of westbound Sam Eig Highway and Fields Road when it was struck from behind by a blue 2018 Jeep Compass at around 8:30 a.m., according to the statement. Gaithersburg City police responded to the report of a two-vehicle collision, the statement said.
The driver of the Toyota and Gottlieb were transported to a local hospital, with Gottlieb in critical condition, according to the statement.
The 18-year-old driver of the Jeep, whom police didn’t identify, remained at the scene Saturday and was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and operating a vehicle without a driver’s license, the statement said.
He was transferred to Gaithersburg City Police Department and subjected to a blood alcohol concentration test, according to the statement. The results are pending as of Thursday afternoon. Police spokesperson Shiera Goff said in a Thursday email that the suspect hasn’t been formally charged and the investigation is ongoing. The investigation will determine if other charges will be filed, the statement said.
Police ask anyone with information about the collision to contact the department’s Collision Reconstruction Unit at 240-773-6620.
