91-Year-Old Holocaust Survivor Struck, Killed By School Bus
SILVER SPRING, Md. (WJZ)—One of the most dangerous intersections in the region became the site of a fatal accident.
Mary Bubala reports he survived the Holocaust only to lose his life in a traffic accident.
A man using a walker to cross the intersection of Columbia Pike and Tech Road in Silver Spring was hit by a school bus full of students from Howard County.
Just after 2 p.m. Wednesday, 91-year-old Elia Miranski-- a Holocaust survivor --was attempting to cross the busy intersection.
Police say he had safely crossed the southbound lanes and was continuing across the northbound lanes when he was struck by the school bus.
"As he was in the middle of the road, he paused and began to cross the northbound lanes, and he was struck by a school bus in the middle lane," said Captain Paul Starks with Montgomery County Police.
The bus had 14 children on board from Howard County who were returning from a field trip to the White House.
"Oh my gosh. That's horrible. Oh my God," one woman said.
The impact broke the man's walker and threw him to the ground.
An ambulance transported the Miranski to the hospital, where he died a short time later.
He was likely walking from his apartment to a shopping center across the street.
"This light goes quick once you cross the street there like quick, quick, quick. Most times I run across the street," one man said.
Late into the evening, the Montgomery County Collision Reconstruction Team worked to piece together the crash.
Workers nearby say the intersection at Columbia Pike and Tech Road is very dangerous.
"People are getting hit. Accidents here at least monthly," said nearby worker Trish Baker.
A neighbor says Miranski lived alone and that he was so friendly and will be missed.
"How can a 91-year-old guy walking with a walker cross six or seven lanes by himself? That just doesn't make sense," one man said. "I feel like I miss my father. That is what I will feel."
The incident closed the northbound lanes of Columbia Pike for hours Wednesday night.
The driver of the bus is identified as 52-year-old Lori Latimer of Elkridge.
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