DENTSVILLE, Md. (November 7, 2007)—Four Charles County teenagers are dead and
one more is in the hospital after a fatal vehicle accident in Dentsville yesterday around 4:30 p.m. The female driver of a second vehicle is also in the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The accident occurred on Oliver Shop Road near Crescent Run Street.
The teenagers are all students at La Plata High School. Police say none of the teenagers was wearing a seatbelt.
Police say a Mercury passenger car, occupied by five teenagers, was traveling north on Oliver Shop Road when the driver, Jonathan Chapman, 16, of La Plata, lost control of the vehicle. The Mercury crossed the centerline and skidded sideways into the path of a southbound Chevrolet Trailbazer, which struck the passenger side of the Mercury.
Chapman, Tavonne Alston, 16, of La Plata, and Dionnte Swinson, 15, of La Plata, who were all in the Mercury, died at the scene.
The two other teens in the Mercury and the adult female driver of the SUV were seriously injured.
The injured teens, Markus Allen, 17, of La Plata and Donte Segar, 14, of Hughesville, were flown by a Maryland State Police helicopter to the Shock Trauma Unit at Prince George's Hospital Center. Allen has injuries that are not considered life-threatening.
Segar was admitted to the hospital in critical condition. However, he died this morning due to his injuries.
The woman in the SUV, Pamela Stine, 38, of King George, Va., was flown to Suburban Hospital, where her injuries are said to be non-life-threatening. She was the sole occupant of the SUV.
The Mercury's speed is considered a factor in the crash. The speed limit on Oliver Shop Road is 40 miles per hour.
The Traffic Operations Unit of the Charles County Sheriff's Office is investigating.