Man Charged In Hit-And-Run That Killed Gaithersburg Native

GAITHERSBURG, MD — Police say they have arrested and charged the driver who struck a Towson University student from Gaithersburg. Baltimore County officials said that they found evidence linking a gray 2017 Toyota Tundra to the driver in the Dec. 8 crash that killed Mzimazisi Ncube, 20, of the 300 block of Burke Ave.

Around 10:30 p.m., Ncube was struck by a 2017 Toyota Tundra while he was crossing North Charles Street south of Ruxton Ridge Road, authorities said. The driver — whom police identified as 36-year-old Man Bahadur Gurung, of the 1400 block of Chesaco Ave. — was arrested and charged for the incident on Dec. 16.

Gurung is charged with failing to remain at the scene of a deadly accident, failing to notify authorities of a crash involving injury/death, failing to immediately return and remain at the scene of an accident involving death, failure by the driver in an accident to render reasonable assistance to an injured person, and failing to furnish the required identification and license after an accident, according to court records.

Gurung is being held without bail at the Baltimore County Detention Center.

Gurung wasn't the only driver who hit Ncube on Dec. 8. Shortly after the Gaithersburg native was struck by the Toyota, he was hit by a Mercedes, police said. That driver, however, remained on the scene and called 911. Police said Ncube was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries.

"Just the sole fact that he could get hit once, you do nothing," Mzimazisi's sister, Zolani Ncube, told WJZ. "And, he gets hit twice, and all I kept thinking in my mind is, what was going on in the last few seconds of his life?"

Ncube was the youngest of five children and had been studying accounting at Towson University, WJZ reported.

"He was by himself," Ziphe Ncube, another of Mzimazisi's sisters, told WJZ. "We're five and we've never been by ourselves, and to know that in the last moment — how could you be by yourself?"

Before attending Towson University, Ncube was a student at Gaithersburg High School. He played basketball and soccer and volunteered at B.R.O.T.H.E.R.S., a peer mentoring program focused on minority males in Montgomery County, The Baltimore Sun reported.

Morris H. Hudson, who founded the program, called Ncube "a model kid" who had a good support system and didn't need much mentoring from the program, according to The Baltimore Sun.

"I think he just came for the camaraderie," Hudson told the outlet. "He certainly didn't need the program; the program needed him."

Mourners held candlelight vigils on Towson University's campus and outside Ncube's home in Gaithersburg.

"He was the man in the room. Everyone noticed him. His spirit was always, always positive," said Delanie Ridgely, a Towson University student, told WJZ.

Over in Montgomery County, about 50 of Ncube's friends held a candlelight vigil outside his family's home in Gaithersburg, according to The Baltimore Sun.

"His laugh made you laugh, and his smile made you smile," Brandon Hackey, who grew up with Ncube, told the outlet. "He really did deserve all the love he got. He touched the lives of so many people."

Image via Baltimore County Police

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