Police Investigate Fatal Collision on Damascus Road

[Howard Hartman]

	DEPARTMENT OF POLICE MEDIA SERVICES DIVISION 2350 RESEARCH BOULEVARD ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND 20850-3294
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 21, 2012	FOR MORE INFORMATION:                         Media Services Division, 240-773-5030

Police Investigate Fatal Collision on Damascus Road

Related Reference: 2012 Montgomery County Traffic Fatalities Map

Detectives from the Montgomery County Police Collision Reconstruction Unit are investigating a fatal collision that occurred on August 17 in Etchison.

On August 17, at approximately 9:10 p.m., 5th District officers and Fire/Rescue personnel responded to the intersection of Damascus Road and Laytonsville Road for a report of a personal injury collision.

Investigation revealed that a 2010 Toyota Camry had stopped at a stop sign on Laytonsville Road at Damascus Road. The driver, identified as Guiling Zhao, age 44, of the 10600 block of Hillingdon Road in Woodstock, entered the intersection into the path of a 2008 Toyota Corolla operated by Robert Kenneth Clements, age 53, of the 1100 block of Hornell Drive in Silver Spring. The Toyota Corolla, which had been traveling eastbound on Damascus Road, struck the Toyota Camry.

Two of the passengers in the Toyota Corolla were transported from the collision scene to the hospital for what were believed to be non-life-threatening injuries. However, on August 18, one of the passengers, identified as Runette Parkhouse Clements, age 75, died at the hospital from injuries that she sustained from the collision. Runette Clements had been the left rear seat passenger in the vehicle.

The circumstances surrounding this collision remain under investigation. Investigators are asking anyone who witnessed this fatal collision to contact the Collision Reconstruction Unit at 301-840-2435. Callers may remain anonymous.

Damascus Road and Laytonsville Road in Damascus