‘A step in the right direction’: Arrest made in fatal hit-and-run in Montgomery County

MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. ( DC News Now ) – Jacques Price, 27, was hit and killed by a car along Veirs Mill Road on Monday, April 8.

The Montgomery County Department of Police (MCPD) said it arrested a suspect in the case last Thursday.

Price’s father, Marcus Glivings, says it feels like he’s been trapped in a bad dream ever since his son was killed.

“It’s like that every day,” Glivings said. “Normally mornings are the hardest because I know what the day is going to bring and not bring.”

Glivings says it was a relief for his family when police arrested 42-year-old Gilver Zelaya Diaz, the alleged driver of the car that fatally hit Price.

“It doesn’t change anything. It doesn’t bring Jacques back, but in some form or fashion, it was like a step in the right direction as far as the healing process,” the grieving father said.

Prosecutors say Zelaya Diaz has an extensive criminal history including drug, assault and armed robbery charges. Court documents show he was on probation at the time of the crash, did not have a license and has been in the U.S. illegally since 2019.

“I’m just hoping this guy never sees the light of day,” Glivings said.

Glivings says he’s proud of his son for all he accomplished in his 27 years of life, and the thing he’s most proud of is how great of a father he was to his 4-year-old son.

“He loved being a dad,” he said. “He embraced fatherhood. I mean, everything he was and did, he did it for his son.”

Glivings says a memorial celebration for Price was held along Veirs Mill Road on Sunday.

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