Upper Marlboro Residents Address Dangers Of Ritchie Marlboro Road In Emergency Meeting

UPPER MARLBORO, MD — Residents of Prince George's County gathered recently for an emergency townhall meeting to express concern about the dangerousness lurking along Ritchie Marlboro Road. The latest crash on that stretch of road March 7 claimed the life of a senior at Wise High School.

"You have family members. They leave out and you hope and pray nothing happens to them because it's like the Indy 500," Jody Johnson, a Marlboro Ridge resident, said during the meeting that was attended by ABC7. "Just the day after that young lady was killed, the tragic accident, they had another accident. So, that tells you something. They have to do something."

County Council Vice-Chair Wala Blegay called for the meeting that also was attended by county public works and transportation department employees, along with members of the police department.

"When I look at the data, most of the accidents are single-car so, that we can control," Prince George's Police Asst. Chief Vernon Hale said at the meeting. "When we have single-car accidents because they're going too fast, not navigating the road, that's on drivers. So, we have to find ways to modify behaviors as well."

Residents called for immediate changes to be made to the roadway, such as a roundabout or a traffic signal to slow down drivers, ABC7 reported.

Read more at ABC7