MD Police Searching for Hit-And-Run Driver Who Struck Arlington Bicyclist

Maryland authorities are searching for the driver of a Honda sport utility vehicle that hit an Arlington bicyclist, leaving the rider in critical condition at an area hospital.

According to the Anne Arundel County Police Department, officers were called to Central Avenue at the Patuxent River Road in Davidsonville at 5:09 p.m. Saturday on a report of a crash involving two bicyclists.

The bicyclists were westbound on Central Avenue approaching the Patuxent River Bridge when a bike ridden by Lynn Carol Kristianson, 62, of Arlington, VA, was struck by a white or silver SUV that left the scene. The suspect’s SUV fled west on Central Avenue into Prince George’s County, police said.

Maile Catherine Neel, 52, of University Park, MD, was riding immediately behind Kristianson and also crashed. After the collision, Kristianson’s bike came to rest in the roadway and was struck by a 2005 Chevy Impala driven by Tierra Lesley Harris, 21, of Oxon Hill, MD.

Witnesses said the suspect’s SUV was driven by a white man, 50 to 60 years old, with a grey mustache and dark glasses.

Kristianson was taken to University of Maryland Shock Trauma, where she was listed in critical, but stable condition on Sunday. Neel was treated and release from Washington Hospital Center. The driver of the Chevy Impala was not injured.

Police believe driver error caused the crash, and that sun glare may have been a factor. The driver failed to yield to the bicyclists lawfully using the roadway. Speed does not appear to be a factor in the collision.

Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the Traffic Safety Section at 410-222-8573.