An Ellicott City man who was struck by a car while walking in Annapolis this spring has died, according to the Annapolis Police Department.
Christopher Hoeckel, 37, of Ellicott City stepped out onto Bay Ridge Road around 9:50 a.m. April 3 and was struck by a car traveling east near the intersection with Cypress Road. Hoeckel was crossing Bay Ridge Road heading toward the McDonald’s restaurant, Bernie Bennett, a spokesperson for Annapolis Police said at the time.
Hoeckel was flown to Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore in critical condition. He died July 7, police said.
The driver, who stayed on the scene, was ruled not at fault, police said.
Hoeckel marks the eighth pedestrian or cyclist to die or be injured after being struck by cars since December in Anne Arundel County.
On Jan. 24, Zarko Peruza, a 74-year-old Croatian immigrant and former professional soccer player, was killed in a hit-and-run crash while bicycling home from work. Police have not identified a suspect in the crash. A roadside memorial, known as a ghost bike, was placed along Hilltop Drive marking where Peruza was killed.
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On Jan. 29, Rhoda Cabauatan, a 63-year-old Naval Academy employee, was killed while crossing in front of a vehicle near Route 665 and Chinquapin Round Road in Annapolis. The motorist stayed at the scene and police said pedestrian error appears to be a factor in the crash.
Eleven days later on Feb. 9, an 89-year-old pedestrian, Xiu Zhi Dai, was struck and killed in Glen Burnie attempting to cross East Furnace Branch Road, according to Anne Arundel County Police. Dai, a Glen Burnie resident, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, an Odenton resident, waited for emergency personnel.
On Feb. 15, Mary Johannes Summers, a 54-year-old Annapolis woman, was killed while crossing the southbound lanes of Riva Road. Summers was struck around 11 p.m. by a 2016 Ford Focus. The 17-year-old driver was not injured and remained at the scene. Summers was taken to Anne Arundel Medical Center with life-threatening injuries and later pronounced dead.
Another pedestrian, Eastport resident James “Sammy” Keller, was hit by a car on Dec. 30 as he was crossing Chesapeake Avenue near State Street. Keller suffered serious injuries, including a traumatic brain injury, from the hit-and-run.
After a six-month investigation, Annapolis Police arrested Jerome Dears, 39, of Annapolis on June 16 and charged him in connection with the collision that sent Keller, 61, to the hospital for nearly two months.
Dears was charged with reckless driving, negligent driving, failing to stop his car at the scene of a crash involving bodily injury, failing to return to the scene of the crash, failing to offer assistance to the injured man, failing to report the crash to the police and injuring a vulnerable person while driving a motor vehicle. Dears is scheduled to appear in Annapolis District Court July 25.
On July 3, Shawnna Johnston, 37, and a 17-year-old girl, both of Parkville, were crossing the unit block of Ridgley Avenue around 7:56 a.m. when they were struck by a vehicle driven by Debra Walker, 67, of Arnold. Johnston died of complications from her injuries on July 6, police said, and the teen suffered minor injuries.