Local digest: Metro entrance to close; Md. pedestrian killed; drowned boy identified Starting Monday, riders should expect to see the east entrance of the Van Ness Metro station at Connecticut Avenue NW closed for the next five months while the transit agency tears out the two existing escalators and replaces them. The two escalators were installed when the station first opened in 1981 and they've become increasingly less reliable over the years, according to Metro. Rehabilitating the escalators isn't practical or cost effective, Metro officials said. Metro has said it plans to replace 128 escalators by 2020, including ones at Bethesda, Columbia Heights, Friendship Heights, Georgia Ave.-Petworth, Glenmont, Shady Grove and Mt. Vernon Square. Construction is expected to last until spring 2014. Riders at Van Ness can enter or exit the station using the escalator, elevator or stairs on the west side of Connecticut Avenue. Man killed crossing street in Pr. George's Prince George's County police are investigating the death of a man struck by a car as he was crossing a street. Kevin Strickland, 40,of Upper Marlboro was trying to cross Watkins Park Drive at about 8:30 p.m. Friday when a car hit him, police said. The driver of the car stayed on the scene and was not hurt. Charges haven't been filed in the case and police are reviewing whether Strickland was in the crosswalk when he was hit. Police ask anyone with information to call 301-731-4422. Lynh Bui Howard County man killed in Atlanta The Howard County man charged in the 2007 killing of his identical twin brother was shot and killed Friday night in suburban Atlanta, where he had moved to restart his life. Wael Ali, whose 2012 trial in his brother Wasel's killing ended with a mistrial, was shot with his own gun by a friend at a Marietta restaurant, according to Marietta police spokesman David Baldwin. Ali had given Raouf Sanad the gun to look at and somehow the gun went off. Ali was shot in the front neck and died at the scene, Baldwin said. Police consider the case an accident. They have charged Sanad with involuntary manslaughter, reckless conduct and pointing a weapon at another person. Ali was living in the Atlanta area and going to school when he was arrested in 2011 for killing his brother, who was found asphyxiated in a wooded area near the Columbia Mall. Howard County prosecutors decided not retry Ali after a jury could not reach a verdict. The murder investigation is still open. Michael S. Rosenwald Authorities identify drowning victim The Charles County Sheriff's Office has identified the 6-year-old boy who drowned in Waldorf, Md., on Saturday as Jayden Michael Williams. Williams is reported to have fallen off a concrete platform at 2 p.m. into a lake on Drake Court while playing with a friend. The friend called for help at a nearby house, police reported. Charles County sheriff's officers, fire and emergency medical services responded to the call, police reported. The Charles County Dive and Rescue Team pulled Williams from the water and began life-saving measures, police said. Williams was transported to the University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center and died two hours later, authorities said. The drowning appears to be accidental, authorities said. Samantha Hogan