A
makeshift memorial is seen at the scene of a fatal crash Friday morning
in Montgomery County. (Donna St. George /The Washington Post)The crash happened around 11:52 p.m. in the 13800 block of Dufief Mill Road near Travilah Road, police said.
Police said a sedan with four people inside was headed north and left the roadway, striking trees. The car came to rest in the front yard of a home.
Three of the four people inside the car were 18 years old, and one was 17 years old, said Montgomery County Police Capt. Tom Didone. Police identified the dead passengers as Alexander Murk, age 18, of Potomac and Calvin Jia-Xing Li, age 18, of Rockville. All four were students or recent graduates of Wootton High School in Rockville, according to the school’s website.
The driver of the 2006 Acura TSX is identified as Samuel Joseph Ellis, age 18, of North Potomac. Ellis, who graduated from Wootton High School this month, was taken to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Can't
stop crying, God please take Calvin and Alex with open arms to the
heavens and please take the pain away from all the loved ones
— Bryan Castillo (@bigpapichulo7) June 26, 2015
Its been a while since we balled on the field together. But wootton football was a brotherhood. Not to be forgotten. ??1?2???7?
— Reid Vincentz (@VONCON2) June 26, 2015
A woman who identified herself as Murk's grandmother declined to talk to a reporter, saying, "It's too painful." Efforts to reach family members of the other young men police identified were unsuccessful.
According to Wootton High School’s football coach, Eddie Tolliver, the crash involved three former football players – two that played this past season and one that played as a freshman.
“Very surprised,” Tolliver said in an interview. Ellis was Wootton’s starting quarterback the last two seasons and Li played wide receiver and defensive back. “No one ever expects anything like this to happen. We’re just praying for their families.”
Just before 1 pm, Monica London came to the makeshift memorial near the crash site, laying a bouquet of purple flowers. "I'm just really sad," she said, saying her son played football with two of the teenagers.
She said the Wootton High School community was devastated and that the boys involved were "really good kids," great athletes and headed to college. "It could have been any of us," she said, standing next to the memorial, made of two tree branches fashioned into a cross adorned with a little cloth American flag.
Didone said a preliminary investigation showed that possible factors contributing to the fatal crash included speed, alcohol and a lack of seatbelt use by some of the teenagers.
The two back-seat passengers, who were not buckled, were pronounced dead at the scene, he said. It is unclear whether the driver’s seat belt was buckled.
Police are continuing to investigate the underage drinking party as well as the events leading to the fatal collision. The school will be open on Monday to provide counseling and support to students.