The suspect in a Route 29 hit and run crash that killed two construction workers and injured three others told court officials Tuesday he was in the country illegally, according to Montgomery County police.
Manuel De Jesus Gonzalez-Geronimo, 31, of the 1900 block of Ruatan Street in Hyattsville and originally from Guatemala, fled the scene Monday afternoon after he crashed a van into a parked truck on Route 29 in Burtonsville, authorities said.
He turned himself in to Prince George’s County police at about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday morning.
“In the pre-bond hearing, he admitted to the court that he was here illegally and was from Guatemala,” police spokeswoman Lucille Baur said.
Gonzalez-Geronimo is being held without bond in the Montgomery County Detention Center, facing charges of leaving the scene of a crash involving death, failure to immediately stop a vehicle at the scene of a collisioninvolving bodily injury and driving without a license.
Police spokeswoman Officer Melanie Hadley said too much time had elapsed between the accident and when Gonzalez-Geronimo turned himself in to police to test him for alcohol use.
Montgomery County Assistant State’s Attorney Bryan Roslund said there is a potential for additional charges.
“This is an ongoing investigation,” he said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement spokeswoman Ernestine Fobbs said ICE officers are working with county police to determine the suspect’s immigration status.
“If he is indeed found to be here illegally, he would be turned over to ICE at the conclusion of his trial here,” Fobbs said.
Road construction worker Martin Ruffin, 30, of the 1800 block of Moreland Avenue in Baltimore, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident.
County police said James Cronin, 37, of the 7200 block of Judy Road in Glen Burnie, died from injuries sustained in the collision after being treated at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.
Construction workers Hugo Perez, 28, and Rafael Ramos, 30, both of Columbia, and Jose Padillo, 35, of Glen Burnie, also were injured in the accident but are expected to survive.
