Updated: Bicyclist Struck by SUV in Bethesda Dies

Teen fell off sidewalk and was hit by vehicle

By Charlie Wright

Jacob Cassell Via Brandice Heckert on Twitter

A bicyclist hit by an SUV on Wednesday afternoon in Bethesda died from his injuries Thursday morning, authorities said.

Jacob Cassell, 17, of Bethesda, was riding south on the sidewalk of Old Georgetown Road when he fell off the sidewalk and into the road, county police said.

Cassell was hit by a 2018 Volkswagen Atlas also heading south on Old Georgetown Road. He was taken to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries and died Thursday morning.

The driver of the Volkswagen, 39-year-old Matthew Williams of Bethesda, was not injured in the crash. He remained at the scene.

Cassell was a rising junior at Winston Churchill High School with a “kind heart and a contagious smile,” Principal Brandice Heckert wrote in a Twitter post Thursday morning.

In a letter to families, Heckert wrote that Cassell was the school’s bulldog mascot for the 2018-19 school year and was “at almost every event” and “he was proud to be a bulldog.”

“Jake … was the spirit in our building and community,” she wrote.

The crash closed the southbound lanes of Old Georgetown Road at Beech Avenue around 5 p.m.

Police are continuing to investigate what happened.

Charlie Wright can be reached at charlie.wright@bethesdamagazine.com

Staff writer Caitlynn Peetz contributed to this story.