Car full of people launched into oncoming traffic after collision, MD cops say. 4 dead
Four people died after their car was struck by two separate vehicles Saturday evening, Maryland police say.
State troopers arrived to the scene of a three-car crash in Westminster at about 5:30 p.m. on Nov. 4, according to a Maryland State Police news release. Four of the five people inside the Chevy Equinox that was hit twice were killed in the collision — including a teenager, police say.
The Chevy, driven by 72-year-old Charles Black III, was stopped and preparing to make a left turn off westbound Liberty Road onto Skidmore Road, according to police. As the Chevy went to make the turn, another car slammed into the back of the Chevy, police said.
The rear-ending launched the Chevy into oncoming traffic in Liberty Road’s eastbound lanes, according to police. A Ford F-350 battered the Chevy, the second time the car was crashed into, police said.
Black III was found dead when troopers arrived, according to the release. Two other passengers, 69-year-old Barbara Black and 63-year-old Debbie Hill, were also pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Two teenagers were in the Chevy when it was struck — 17-year-old Gage Black and 15-year-old Phillip Ceresa. Gage Black and Ceresa were both flown to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, where Gage Black later died.
Everyone in the Chevy was from New Windsor, according to police.
The Ford driver, 59-year-old Jeffrey Burdette, was also sent to the hospital in Westminster for his injuries, police said.
McClatchy News requested information about the status of Ceresa and Burdette and is awaiting response.
Police said they do not think “impaired driving was a factor in this crash,” the release said. The collision is still under investigation by the Maryland State Police Crash Team.
Westminster is about 35 miles northwest of Baltimore.
