Crime & Safety
Police: Diabetic Driver Dies in Truck-Tree Collision
The driver of a pickup truck that hit a tree off of Route 108 in Gaithersburg early Sunday morning died at the scene of the collision.
The driver of a truck that hit a tree on Route 108 in Gaithersburg early Sunday morning, March 24, died at the scene of the single-vehicle collision, according to a Montgomery County Police Department news statement.
The gray pickup truck, which police said was being driven erratically, had been spotted by an off-duty police officer at around 1 a.m. Sunday. On-duty police placed a lookout for the truck, and an on-duty officer spotted it at the intersection of Route 108 and Hawkins Creamery Road, according to a release.
Before police could get the driver of the truck to stop, the truck left the eastbound lane of Route 108 and struck a tree, police reported.
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The driver—Jose Antonio Ayala, 49, of Fullview Court, Gaithersburg—was diabetic and dependent on insulin, family members told the police. His family last saw him at around 6 p.m. on Saturday, when he left the house for groceries, police reported.
The cause of the collision is under investigation.
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