By Makiya Seminera
The Charlotte Observer
HYATTSVILLE, Md. — Maryland police are searching for a driver they said hit a man with a car, then dumped his body on the side of the road.
After being called to conduct a welfare check near a neighborhood in Hyattsville at about 4:05 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 21, officers discovered a man lying by the side of the road, according to an Oct. 23 Prince George’s County Police Department news release.
The man, identified as Franklin Membreno Mendez, was confirmed dead at the scene “suffering from trauma,” police said.
Mendez was “involved in an unrelated, minor collision” earlier that night about 2 miles away, investigators said. The 28-year-old stepped out of the car, according to investigators, which is when another car crashed into him and he “became lodged in that car’s windshield.”
The driver traveled those 2 miles and dumped Mendez’s body near a road, then fled, police said.
Doorbell footage from neighbors was shared with WUSA 9, showing the moments a car pulled up where Mendez’s body was later found. The neighbor who filmed the car told WUSA 9 she had found Mendez’s body and reported it to police.
A small wooden cross shrouded with yellow and red roses was placed where the New Carrollton resident’s body was discovered, WUSA 9 reported. Etched in white on the memorial is his name, video from the outlet shows.
Police on X, formerly known as Twitter, called on community members to help investigators locate the driver, asking for any information related to the case.
Police say the driver’s car is a “2011-2017 gray Honda Civic with a large white decal” on its back window. There would also be damage to the car’s front bumper on the passenger side and fender, as well as a smashed area of the windshield, police said.
Hyattsville is about 5 miles northeast of Washington, D.C.
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