Gaithersburg

The pilot and passenger of a small plane that crashed into a power line tower near Goshen Road and Rothbury Drive in Gaithersburg/Montgomery Village around 5:30pm on Sunday were successfully rescued without incident by EMS personnel using two specialty crane/boom trucks just after midnight on Monday.  According to Maryland State Police, the pilot was identified as Patrick Merkle, 65, of Washington, D.C. and the passenger was identified as Jan Williams, 66, of Louisiana. Both were transported to the hospital with serious injuries. The plane was also removed from the power lines early Monday morning.

ICYMI @MontgomeryCoMD Rescue operations @mcfrs @dcfireems Technical Rescue Team(s) rescue/removed 2 adult occupants trapped on plane that crashed into power lines in Gaithersburg, MD area. Tower & Crane company (contractors) working w/ PEPCO & @mcfrs to get plane down. https://t.co/bgesIAf7uQ pic.twitter.com/sY3O0Eq2tG


Maryland

Maryland State Police are on the scene of a single engine plane crash in Montgomery County where rescue efforts are underway. The plane involved is a Mooney Mike 20P single engine plane.  The pilot is identified as Patrick Merkle, 65, of Washington, D.C. The passenger is identified as Jan Williams, 66, of Louisiana. Both the pilot and the passenger are reportedly unharmed inside the aircraft awaiting rescue.

Shortly before 6:00 p.m. today, Maryland State Police at the Rockville Barrack were dispatched to the report of a plane crash located about four miles northwest of the Montgomery County Airpark in the area of Goshen Road and Rothbury Drive.  Arriving troopers found the plane suspended in the air, entangled in a power line tower. Maryland State Police from the College Park and Rockville Barracks are on the scene along with emergency medical service personnel from Montgomery County. Personnel from the Potomac Electric Power Company are also on scene.


Beyond MoCo

Huerta Melendez, 56, of Montgomery Village was struck and killed on October 11 while working roadway construction on Indian Head Highway in Fort Washington, MD. According to the Prince George’s Police Department, the driver of a vehicle struck several traffic cones before striking Melendez, who was standing in a closed section of the roadway, on Tuesday  night.  The driver of the striking vehicle was transported to a hospital with non life-threatening injuries.

The preliminary investigation revealed Melendez was working as a roadway construction worker on site on Indian Heady Highway at the time of the collision. For reasons now under investigation, the driver struck several traffic cones before striking the victim who was standing in a closed section of the roadway. The car then struck a median and a second vehicle. Melendez was pronounced dead on the scene. The driver of the striking vehicle was transported to a hospital with injuries that do not appear life-threatening. The second driver was not injured.  


Montgomery Village

Montgomery Village’s Fall Festival will take place this year on October 8 from 11am-2:30pm at North Creek Community Center (20125 Arrowhead Road). The event will feature food trucks, games, a petting zoo, and the annual Great Pumpkin Race. The Great Pumpkin Race is a “unique side-by-side, single-elimination race featuring handcrafted, decorated pumpkin race cars, in a madcap, dramatic explosion of creative ingenuity. The referee rules the race, building excitement as registered pumpkin race car owners compete for the Pumpkin Race Championship Trophy.”

Each year the racing and the decorating become more competitive, and this year is expected to be no different. Families, individuals, local dignitaries, groups and organizations are encouraged to build a pumpkin racer for the race, which caps off the Montgomery Village Foundation (MVF) Fall Festival. Participants will have time before the single-elimination heats to test and tune their racers for optimal performance. A limited number of race kits will be available both at the MVF Office, 10120 Apple Ridge Road ($20), before race day, and at the festival on race day (limited quantities); pumpkins not supplied. For instructions on how to build a pumpkin racer, click here.


Montgomery Mall

Back in January, @themocosource reached out to let us know that Baskin Robbins would be coming to the Montgomery Village Shopping Center and we now have confirmation from klnb that the ice cream shop will be coming to the vacant space next to Suburban Hair and Linda’s Nails. Baskin Robbins joins a growing list of restaurants that are all expected to open in the redeveloped MV shopping center by the end of the year that includes Antojitos Salvadoreños Isabel, Boo Boo Pho, Dickey’s BBQ, Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken, and Kobe Japan. The new Starbucks is at the former site of the Montgomery Village Denny’s (19290 Montgomery Village Ave) opened in last month.

klnb has also announced that Fiesta Laundromat, which currently has a location  7601 New Hampshire Ave in Takoma Park, will be opening in the center, joining The Joint chiropractic care center and Safe Splash Swim School as non-restaurant businesses that have signed leases in the strip mall.


Montgomery Village

The brand new Starbucks in the Montgomery Village Shopping Center is scheduled to open Thursday, August 25. Employees at the location tell us they plan to be open for business by noon. The Starbucks is located at the former site of the Montgomery Village Denny’s at 19290 Montgomery Village Ave.

Earlier this month we reported that Hangry Joe’s will be coming to the space next to the new Starbucks.  Hangry Joe’s opened a location at 2533 Ennals Ave in Wheaton back in May and has additional locations opening at 10050 Darnestown Road in the Travilah Square shopping center and at 718-B Rockville Pike.


Germantown

In June 2017, on the eve of their graduation from Northwest High School, Shadi Ali Najjar, 17, and Artem Ziberov, 18, were ambushed and shot multiple times while they sat in a parked car in Montgomery Village. The Maryland Court of Appeals released its opinion today, affirming the second-degree murder convictions of Roger Garcia, 24, of Germantown, for his involvement in their deaths.  Garcia will continue serving his 100-year prison sentence.

Garcia was one of three men convicted in the murders. Co-defendants, Jose Canales-Yanez, and Edgar Garcia-Gaona, were each found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole. The Maryland Court of Appeals reinstated the murder conviction for co-defendant, Rony Galicia, on June 27th, 2022. He is also serving a life sentence without parole.


Montgomery Village

Permanent signage has been installed at the new Montgomery Village Starbucks, which will be located at the former site of the Montgomery Village Denny’s (19290 Montgomery Village Ave.)  The drive through menu screen/speaker was also recently installed and construction is ongoing on the interior of the store. No opening date has been announced but the store is expected to open by the fall.

Earlier this week we reported that Hangry Joe’s will be coming to the space next to the upcoming Starbucks.  Hangry Joe’s opened a location at 2533 Ennals Ave in Wheaton back in May and has additional locations opening at 10050 Darnestown Road in the Travilah Square shopping center and at 718-B Rockville Pike.


Gaithersburg

Hangry Joe’s Hot Chicken is coming to the Montgomery Village Shopping Center, according to KLNB realty.  The restaurant will be located in the brand new space next to the upcoming Starbucks. Earlier this year Hangry Joe’s opened a location at 2533 Ennals Ave in Wheaton and has additional locations opening at 10050 Darnestown Road in the Travilah Square shopping center and at 718-B Rockville Pike.

Hangry Joe’s joins a growing list of restaurants that are all expected to open in the redeveloped shopping center by the end of this year that includes Antojitos Salvadoreños Isabel, Boo Boo’s Pho, Dickey’s BBQ, and Kobe Japan. The Joint chiropractic care center and Safe Splash Swim School have also signed leases and will coming to the center.


Montgomery Village

Signage has been installed at the Antojitos Salvadoreños Isabel, which is coming to 19114 Montgomery Village Ave, the former Einstein Bagel Bros location. We first reported that a new Salvadoran restaurant would be coming to the Village in May. Construction on the interior of the restaurant is ongoing and a representative tells us they hope to open by October.  The restaurant will serve popular Salvadorian dishes like pupusas, tamales, and yuca con chicharron, as well as traditional Salvadorian cuisine such as pastelitos. La Poteria, which sells Colombian street food and coffee, is located next door.

Dickey’s Barbecue Pit previously opened its second Maryland location in Montgomery County when it opened in Germantown in February 2013. The restaurant closed the following year and reopened under new management in July 2014 before closing permanently in early 2016. The first Maryland location was in Gambrills, but has since closed. Currently there are nearby locations in Pasadena, MD, two in Fairfax VA, and one in Alexandria VA. There is no expected opening date at the moment.


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