After two street races in Seat Pleasant and Adelphi led to one fatality and left another victim in critical condition, Prince George’s County police are beefing up patrols on roadways throughout the county to monitor reckless driving.

On Friday, two vehicles were racing in Seat Pleasant around 9:30 p.m. when one of the vehicles struck a Metrobus carrying passengers, according to police.

The driver of the striking vehicle, Cleon Wills, 22, of Bowie, was pronounced dead on the scene and eight others were injured, police said.

Around 3:15 p.m. Saturday, officers responded to the report of a hit-and-run in the 2000 block of University Boulevard, where they found a 21-year-old man lying in the road, police said.

The striking vehicle, believed to be a gold Honda sedan, continued eastbound on University Boulevard without stopping, according to police.

Police said an investigation revealed that the striking vehicle was racing with a second vehicle near University Boulevard and Riggs Road when the pedestrian, who was not in a crosswalk, was struck.

According to police, the second vehicle crashed, and the driver of that vehicle was taken into custody.

Cpl. Larry Johnson said county police are working with the state’s attorney’s office to determine specific charges.

Christina Cotterman, a county police spokeswoman, said the county department and Maryland State Police will “continue to promote strategies to curb aggressive driving.”

“These strategies focus on drivers who demonstrate a blatant disregard for traffic laws and community safety, as witnessed this week with two separate vehicle races in the county,” she said.

Officers will monitor street racing activity in both marked and unmarked patrol cruisers, she said.

The last major street racing activity reported in Prince George’s was in 2008 along Indian Head Highway in Accokeek. In that Feb. 16 incident, a car plowed into a crowd of 200 people and killed eight.

djgross@gazette.net