MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — A Montgomery County community gathered Sunday afternoon to remember a 75-year-old man killed while crossing a road.
A car fatally struck Teklu Bushen Siba while he was crossing Columbia Pike on foot last month, according to authorities.
Family and supporters were back at the scene of the crash Sunday to install a memorial in Siba's honor.
His daughter, Sofia Teklu Bushen, described him as a "beloved, God-fearing, husband, father, son, and brother."
"Teklu lived his life with deep sense of humility and confidence," she added.
The crash that killed him happened on March 16. Montgomery County Police at the time said he was crossing the northbound lanes of Columbia Pike on foot when he was hit.
Siba's family is now urging policymakers to improve road safety at the site.
"It's very important for all of us to remember this day that this could be our family, this could be our daughters, this could be our son," said Aida Teklu Bushen, another of Siba's daughters. "This could be our loved ones that could be going through this moment."
Kristy Daphnis, a street safety activist with Montgomery County Families for Safe Streets, said there are steps urban planners could take to make roads safer, like lowering speed limits and adding protected crosswalks.
"Increasing crossing times at crosswalks could help too," Daphnis said. "So someone who may be older, may be slower moving, can actually get across the street in the time allotted."
According to Maryland state data as of Sunday afternoon, 13 people have been killed in car crashes in Montgomery County so far this year.
Across the entire state, 163 people have lost their lives in roadway deaths in 2023. Of those 163, 43 were pedestrians.
At the time of the crash that killed Teklu Bushen Siba, Montgomery County Police said the driver stayed at the scene.
Authorities have not yet released a cause for the collision, but when reached by phone Sunday, Montgomery County Police Public Information Director Shiera Goff said that no foul play, like speeding or impaired or distracted driving, was suspected.
She called the case a "tragedy."
WATCH NEXT: