Imagine driving along a nice residential road and coming upon a well-defined crosswalk, which includes a traffic calming median and numerous signs reminding you stop for pedestrians. Now imagine stopping at the crosswalk, and having someone beep at you for stopping. Now imagine two men get out of that car to harass you, one points a gun at you and threatens to kill you if you don’t start moving. Imagine the fear that goes through you as that happens.

According to the Montgomery County Police that is exactly what happened to a driver was as he stopped to allow a pedestrian to cross the street on Wynnfield Drive at Shore Harbour Drive at about 4:00 pm on a warm Tuesday afternoon.

According to police, on April 11, the victim stopped at the crosswalk on Wynnfield, which connects the popular walking/biking trails at Lake Churchill to the Black Hill Trail. The crosswalk is more than just simple white stripes in the street, it is a concrete traffic calming device in the middle of the road with a walkway embedded inside. The crosswalk also has additional signage stating that it is a state law that traffic must stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk. It is located just at the head of the land bridge on Wynnfield Drive, which separates Lake Churchill from Little Lake Seneca.

Montgomery County Police Lieutenant James Brown, the acting Commander of the 5th District-Germantown confirmed that on that Tuesday afternoon a white adult male driver had stopped at the crosswalk to allow a pedestrian to cross, when an older model dark green SUV pulled up behind him and started beeping its horn. The SUV carried three black males. Two passengers exited the SUV and approached the stopped vehicle.

According to police, one of the passengers threatened to kill the driver of the stopped car while displaying a handgun. According to Brown, the two men that exited the vehicle were about 5-foot, 10-inches tall, and one suspect had short black hair and the other suspect had dreadlocks. Police did not get a description of the driver.

Captions:

Top: The crosswalk at Wynnfield Drive near Shore Harbour Drive, is well defined.

Next: The crosswalk connects the popular walking/biking trail at Lake Churchill with the Black Hill Trail.

Next: The crosswalk has numerous signs tell motorists to stop for pedestrians in the crosswalk, as well as signs warning of bikers and hikers.

Photos by Germantown Pulse.