Bethesda apartment building driveway reopens after truck damaged porte-cochère

The driveway has reopened at Triangle Towers at 4835 Cordell Avenue in downtown Bethesda. It was cordoned off after a truck driver struck the porte-cochère at the main entrance last month. While the canopy has presumably been cleared as structurally sound, one of the visible damaged areas still looks pretty rough from a cosmetic standpoint. Check out the photo below:

Truck driver ignores clearance warning at Bethesda apartment tower

There's a whole genre of video online that consists of trucks driven by overconfident or distracted operators crashing into overpasses despite signage warning them in advance. It's too bad one of those omnipresent camerapersons wasn't on hand to document what Roscoe P. Coltrane would surely have described as "a horrendous crash" at Triangle Towers at 4835 Cordell Avenue in downtown Bethesda last week. Despite the large sign warning of an 8' clearance on the porte-cochère ahead, well, the driver apparently just decided to go for it. Doh! In addition to the masonry damage, the driveway had to be sealed off with warning tape. What would Damian Einstein say?

Latest Little Falls Parkway road diet is scene of crash in Bethesda (Photos)

The latest illegal road diet implemented by Montgomery County on Little Falls Parkway was the scene of a car crash last night in Bethesda. Two vehicles somehow wound up in the median of the shrunken roadway. Some of the flex poles that create a visual cacophony that distracts and blocks drivers' views of cyclists and pedestrians were dislodged. The road diet between Dorset Avenue and Arlington Road was implemented by the Marxist totalitarian County government, despite opposition by 73% of nearby residents, and of all the neighborhoods that border the impacted stretch of the parkway. So much for "democracy!" Now we see the results. And with the County reducing the road to only one lane in each direction, the accident response and towing operation shut down the parkway in the southbound direction. Let's congratulate our genius County officials for steamrolling over the expressed wishes of their constituents, for destroying a road taxpayers paid for decades ago, and for making us less safe. Heckuva job, Brownie!

Car jumps curb in Bethesda Row collision (Photos)

UPDATE - 3:24 PM: The Montgomery County Department of Transportation now also has a crew at the scene to replace the damaged pole and crossing signals. They are coordinating with Pepco.

An SUV left the road in a collision around noon today at the intersection of Bethesda Avenue and Woodmont Avenue in the Bethesda Row area. It crashed into a utility pole, causing damage to Pepco equipment. A bike crossing signal was toppled, and the Bethesda Urban Partnership information kiosk was sent flying, scattering visitor brochures over the sidewalk and Purple Line construction entrance.

Pepco is on-scene to make repairs to their equipment. Airbags deployed on the SUV, but Montgomery County police say there are no injuries to report from the crash at this time. Police advise avoiding the intersection for now, as Bethesda Avenue is closed between Woodmont and Wisconsin Avenue for cleanup and accident investigation.

Bike crossing signal toppled

Brochures scattered around the damaged
Bethesda Urban Partnership kiosk

Tesla driver crashes into sidewalk dining area at Silver Diner in Bethesda (Video + Photos)

A Tesla driver crashed into the outdoor sidewalk dining area outside of Silver Diner at 7150 Woodmont Avenue in downtown Bethesda shortly before 6:00 PM tonight. There is no report of injuries to the driver. It did not immediately appear that there were people dining in the impacted portion of the dining area at the time of the crash, and diners further up from the crash in the same patio area are dining as if nothing serious had happened at this time. Personnel from the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service and the Bethesda-Chevy Chase Rescue Squad are on the scene. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

That's gotta hurt, Gene: Security Public Storage sign damaged in Bethesda (Photos)

The sign out in front of Security Public Storage was apparently struck by a vehicle sometime this weekend. It's leaning like the Tower of Pisa at the self-storage facility at 5223 River Road in Bethesda. Someone has cordoned the area around the sign off with cone-style bollards and caution tape. There's also some damage to one of the lower corners of the sign, the one closest to the street, again suggesting it was struck by a tall vehicle.

Ghost bike placed at site of fatal River Road collision in Bethesda (Photos)

A white ghost bike has been placed at the location of last month's fatal collision at 5244 River Road in Bethesda. The victim, Bethesda resident Sarah Langenkamp, was riding in the unprotected bike lane there when she was struck by the driver of a flatbed truck. Langenkamp was a Foreign Service officer with the U.S. State Department, who had just returned from an assignment in Ukraine in July. A memorial bike safety fund started in her name with a goal of $50,000 has already raised $267,435, as of this morning.

The bike lane (seen at right) does
not have a green paint surface or
physical separation from vehicle lanes 

Bethesda cyclist struck in fatal crash on River Road

A cyclist was struck by a flatbed truck driver in the 5200 block of River Road around 4:00 PM this afternoon. The female victim suffered critical injuries, and was later pronounced dead at the scene, NBC4's Charlie Bragale tweeted. The collision occurred in the vicinity of Beacon Building Products. River Road was closed between Ridgefield Road and Little Falls Parkway for accident reconstruction. The driver of the vehicle remained on the scene, Allison Papson of Fox 5 reports.

Pedestrian struck in downtown Bethesda

A pedestrian was struck on Wisconsin Avenue near Chase Avenue shortly before 7:00 PM tonight. The pedestrian was on the ground, being tended to by Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service personnel. It appeared they may have been attempting to cross Wisconsin using the crosswalk with pedestrian signal lights. MCFRS spokesperson Pete Piringer says the pedestrian has been transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

Woodmont Avenue pedestrian refuge hit by vehicle again (Photos)

Once again a driver has had a close encounter with the pedestrian island on Woodmont Avenue by Veterans Park near Fairmont Avenue. This time, the perpetrator left behind a couple of souveniers: A sizable piece of their vehicle, and a dark skid mark, on the island itself. Another wild night in the Woodmont Triangle!

One injured after car jumps curb at Bethesda Row

A driver jumped the curb on Bethesda Avenue near Levain Bakery around 4:00 PM yesterday, striking a pedestrian who was pinned under the car. The victim suffered Priority-2 trauma injuries, which are serious but not considered life-threatening, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson Pete Piringer. Bethesda Avenue was temporarily closed for rescue activity and investigation. No update on the victim's condition, the cause of the accident, nor any potential charges for the driver have been announced as of this time.

Collision involving Ride On bus in downtown Bethesda (Photos)

A Montgomery County Ride On bus was involved in a collision at the intersection of Battery Lane and Woodmont Avenue in Bethesda around 7:00 PM tonight. Damage to the bike rack and front of the bus is visible. Over an hour later, some lanes are closed in that area, as investigation and cleanup continue. There is no word on the cause or injuries as of this writing.