Fatal Gaithersburg Collision Under Investigation

GAITHERSBURG, MD — The case of a man's death in Gaithersburg was initially investigated by the Montgomery County Police Homicide Division but was transferred to the Collision Reconstruction Unit when authorities learned that the man had been injured in a car crash earlier that day, according to a news release.

Two cars collided at the intersection of Watkins Mill Road and Crested Iris Drive in Gaithersburg Jan. 8. Officers responded to the crash around 2 p.m. and both drivers refused any medical treatment, a police news release says.

At 5:47 p.m. officers received a call about an unresponsive person on the 19300 block of Montgomery Village Avenue. The man, Edwin Portillo, was pronounced dead on Jan. 9, police said. Authorities say they realized that Portillo, 44, was one of the drivers in the crash earlier in the day.

When it was determined that the cause of death was related to injuries from the accident, the case was transferred to the Collision Reconstruction Unit, police said. It has initially been investigated as a case of "sudden death," the news release says.

The crash is still under investigation. Officers are asking anyone with information about it to call the CRU detectives at 240-773-6620.