Route 113 Multiple Crash Update

NEWARK — After piecing together clues in a horrific head-on collision on Route 113 Monday night, police described the accident as a violent, brutal wreck, with a compact car “catapulting upward” when it struck an oncoming SUV.

Maryland State Police said three adults and a two-year-old child died in the accident near the intersection of Langmaid Road and Route 113. They were in a Nissan Cube being driven northbound on Route 113 by Carmelo Dominguez, 53, of the Bronx, N.Y., who was one of the four people killed. Also killed in the crash were his wife, Evelyn E. Morales, 48; his daughter, Natasha E. Dominguez, 23; and his grandson, Jose Dominguez, 2.

Three other family members who were in the same car were injured, police said: a daughter, Christina A. Dominguez, 25, and two grandchildren, four-year-old Yasmine Dominguez-Astacio and nine-year-old Christina Gonzalez. The three were taken to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

In all, police said, seven people were in the Cube, a five-passenger slab-sided compact car, as Dominguez drove it back from Virginia Beach, where they had been visiting family. “It does not appear that anyone in the vehicle was using seat belts or in child safety seats,” police said in a statement.

Drivers of two other cars involved in the wreck were also injured, police said. Mary M. Jones, 41, of the 6700 block of Lenape Place, Snow Hill, was taken to PRMC in Salisbury. Daniel H. Nelson, 23, of Mt. Holley, N.J. was taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore.

Describing how they believe the accident happened, police said witnesses told them the Cube was traveling fast, passing other cars in no-passing zones. Just before the crash, police said, Dominguez attempted to pass a 2000 Peterbilt truck tractor pulling a trailer driven by Leroy Trader, 54, of New Church, Va., who would not be injured in the accident.

While trying to pass the truck in a no-passing zone, police said, the Cube struck a southbound Honda CRV driven by Jones. The crash “caused the Nissan to catapult upward and impact the side of the trailer being pulled by the truck tractor,” MSP said.
The Cube turned over in the air and landed on top of a 2004 Volkswagen Jetta driven by Nelson, police said. The Cube and the Jetta careened off the road.

“The preliminary findings indicate the crash was caused by speed, improper passing, and aggressive driving. Alcohol does not appear to be a factor,” police said.

The state has undertaken public works projects to divide the highway with a median to the north and the south of Langmaid Road, but that part of Route 113 remains an undivided highway with one lane in each direction.

The road was closed for seven hours while police and rescuers dealt with the crash, MSP said.

All of the family members lived at the same address in the 800 block of Macey Plaza in the Bronx, N.Y., police said.

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Vehicle Crash With Fatalities On Route 113

NEWARK -- A driver and three passengers were fatally injured when the driver attempted to pass in a no-pass zone, according to the Maryland State Police in Berlin.

There were four vehicles involved in the crash, including a tractor-trailer that was struck by debris but had no direct contact with the accident, police said.

The accident happened just before the 5 p.m. rush hour on Route 113 near the Langmaid Road intersection in Newark, forcing the stretch to close in both directions for several hours and motorists to take alternate routes.

According to preliminary reports, the at-fault driver attempted to pass other cars on a double yellow line along the undivided highway with one lane in either direction. The MSP crash team was at the scene investigating late Monday.

The speed limit along the stretch is 55 mph.

Very little was left of the vehicle whose driver was at fault, Sgt. Christopher M. Davala said. It was the same vehicle that carried the four people who died, he said.

"The at-fault vehicle was passing other vehicles on a double yellow line," Davala said. "It was very tough to identify the vehicle."

Seven people were in the at-fault car, and three were airlifted to Peninsula Regional Medical Center, as were the drivers of two other vehicles involved, according to a report from the MSP.

In all, 10 people were involved in the crash, the sergeant also said.

"The driver of the tractor-trailer and the vehicle are in good shape," Davala said.

Authorities were withholding the names of the victims until immediate family members were notified, according to Greg Shipley, spokesman for MSP in Pikesville.

The tractor-trailer belongs to an Eastern Shore company, police said.

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Nandua High School Student Fatally Hurt in Car Crash

TASLEY — A rising Nandua High School senior was fatally injured Saturday night while attempting to cross U. S. Route 13 on foot.

Shaqeel Marquette Hellins, 15, of Daughterty Road, died after he was struck by a northbound 2009 Nissan truck driven by Carolyn Marie Morgan of Eden, Md., State Police spokeswoman Michelle Anaya said.

No charges were filed against Morgan.

Hellins apparently was crossing the highway from the west side after he got off work. The accident was reported at 9:23 p.m.

Nandua High School Vice Principal George Parker said Monday morning that students at the school for football practice were mourning the loss of Hellins, who Parker described as “a very genuinely sweet kid” who was known for being active in his church, Macedonia A.M.E. Church in Accomac.

Trooper J. J. Renas is the investigating officer.

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Delaware Man Found Dead At Virginia Accident Scene

Parksley, Va. — Detectives with the Virginia State Police are investigating a pickup truck crash in which a Delaware man was found dead.

The accident occurred at 7:14 a.m. June 24, southeast of Parksley, Accomack County, Va., said police spokeswoman Sgt. Michelle Cotten.

The dead man was identified as Anthony Wayne Wilson, 46, of the 500 block of Blaine Drive, Felton, Cotten said.

Their initial investigation, which still was under way as of 4 p.m., indicated the 1994 Chevy ran off the highway, overcorrected, hit an embankment and crashed.

Wilson’s body was discovered next to the truck, she said. He was identified through his driver’s license.

“It is not known if he was the driver or the passenger,” Cotten said. Wilson’s family has been notified of the accident, she added.

Virginia authorities have requested warrants in order to search the truck, she said.

Cotten discounted initial reports in the local press that Wilson had sustained a gunshot wound.

“He was dirty and disheveled, and we have to wait until he is examined by the medical examiner,” she said.

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Illegal Immigrant Charged With Negligent Driving Killing Passenger

A 22-year-old Hyattsville man has been charged with negligent driving after police say he crashed his car while driving drunk on I-83 early Monday, killing his passenger.

Freddy Cortez Flores, who police say is an illegal immigrant, was driving northbound on I-83 just before 1 a.m. when he lost control of his vehicle and crossed over the right lanes, striking a Jersey wall near Guilford Avenue. Police say he was driving 65 miles an hour in a 40 mile-per-hour zone.

Cortez Flores' passenger, Carlos O. Cardoza Portillo, was wearing his seat belt but was partially ejected and dragged against the Jersey wall for 567 feet before the vehicle came to rest, police said. Portillo was pronounced dead at the scene.

When officers arrived at the scene, they noted Cortez Flores' speech was slurred and detected a strong odor of alcohol, according to charging documents. A Spanish-speaking officer interviewed Cortez Flores, who said he had swerved to avoid an unknown vehicle that had swerved into his lane.

Cortez Flores told the officer that he had consumed four beers, records show. At the Central District station, his blood alcohol level was determined to be 0.09.

Police said Cortez Flores, who had a valid Maryland driver's license, is in the country illegally, and officers contacted an agent from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, who placed an immigration detainer on him.

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