Two people have died and another has been hospitalized with serious injuries after a car crashed into several parked vehicles and caught on fire Friday afternoon, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service. Spokesman Pete Piringer said first responders were called to a scene on Park Vista Drive near Hatteras Way and Running Ridge Lane around 5:30 p.m., where they found the three victims trapped in the burning car. Montgomery County Police say that a 2018 Toyota Avalon was traveling east on Park Vista Drive toward Hatteras Way when the Avalon crossed the double yellow line and struck an unoccupied parked vehicle. After the crash, the Avalon caught fire, according to police. Martha Luise Ross, 78, was in the front passenger seat and Joan Williams Jenkins, 91, was in the rear passenger seat, police said. The driver of the Avalon was Karl Neil Ross, 86, according to a release. Martha Luise Ross and Jenkins were pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. Karl Neil Ross was transported to a nearby hospital with serious injuries, according to police. All three people in the car lived in the same apartment building in the 3200 block of North Leisure World Boulevard, police said. Some 40 first responders were at the scene during the rescue efforts.
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Piringer said the third individual’s injuries were serious, but did not appear to be life-threatening. Parts of Park Vista Drive were closed for an extended period of time as Montgomery County police conduct an investigation, Piringer said. WTOP’s Thomas Robertson contributed to this report.
