Montgomery County Police are asking anyone who drives through Silver Spring or the surrounding area to help identify the driver of a dark-colored Lexus RX SUV that struck and killed a 61-year-old woman on Friday, then fled.

Hanna Wegayehou of Silver Spring was crossing the street near Crestmoor Drive and Colesville Road at approximately 1:14 p.m. when the vehicle hit her. She was declared dead at the scene.

A month later, detectives say they've hit a wall. At a Tuesday news conference at police headquarters in Gaithersburg, Sgt. Eli Kinser of the Collision Reconstruction Unit said investigators have reviewed surveillance footage, interviewed witnesses and examined physical evidence but still cannot identify the driver.

"At this point, the missing piece is not another investigative technique. The missing piece is information that only someone in this community possesses," Kinser said. "Every day that passes extends the pain for a family that deserves answers."

Police described the suspect vehicle as a dark-colored Lexus RX, model year 2009 to 2014. The SUV was last seen at about 1:17 p.m. on June 19, heading northbound on Colesville Road toward New Hampshire Avenue. Detectives have narrowed the pool to roughly 4,000 vehicles matching that description, Kinser said.

He urged anyone who saw the collision, has heard about a Lexus SUV with front-end damage, or knows someone whose vehicle has been missing for a month to call the tip line. Police also urged the driver to come forward.

Wegayehou's son, Nate Tinbite, 24, stood alongside officers at the news conference and spoke through tears. He said his mother worked for the U.S. Department of Transportation for two decades, walked the neighborhood often and was headed to Trader Joe's that afternoon. The family has Ethiopian roots and moved to Montgomery County in the late 1980s. A makeshift memorial marks the crash site on Colesville Road.

“Someone took the person we love most in this world and drove away as if she were nothing,” Tinbite said, urging anyone with information to come forward. “What feels small and uncertain to you could be the piece that brings us answers.”

The case comes amid a broader push to reduce pedestrian deaths in Montgomery County. In 2025, the county recorded 678 pedestrian- and cyclist-involved crashes, including 18 fatalities, according to Councilmember Evan Glass. New Hampshire Avenue, the road toward which the suspect vehicle was last seen heading, is under construction as a high-crash corridor with a $15 million state investment for pedestrian safety, according to the county's Vision Zero FY2026 work plan.

Anyone with information can call the Montgomery County Police non-emergency line at 301-279-8000 or Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).