CALLAWAY, Md. (Aug. 30, 2008)—Two men are dead and four others were sent to St. Mary's Hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries Friday night after a two vehicle accident on Md. Route 5 near Callaway. Police suspect alcohol on the part of the at-fault driver as the cause of the crash.
Kevin Dale Wiersma Jr., 21, of Lexington Park, and his front seat passenger Gregory John Allen, 21, also of Lexington Park, died on scene as a result of injuries sustained during the collision. Wiersma was the driver of the at-fault vehicle.
Police say that around 10:27 p.m. Wiersma and his passenger were traveling northbound on Maryland Route 5 in the area of Chingville Rd. in his 2002 Hyundai Accent sedan. Wiersma's vehicle crossed the center line into the southbound lane striking a 1996 Dodge Ram 1500 van which was driven by Jose Wilfredo Castillo Molina, 47 of Arlington, Va.
Castillo Molina and three other occupants of his vehicle were all transported to St. Mary's Hospital in Leonardtown where they were treated for serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Emergency rescue personnel requested two Maryland State Police evac helicopters within minutes of reaching the scene. Helicopters Trooper 2 and Trooper 7 were dispatched but were forced to turn around because of bad weather. The victims were eventually transported via ambulances.
Wiersma Jr. has three outstanding traffic-related cases in Maryland, according to Saint Mary's County District Court records. Charges include
spinning his wheels, failure to display license on demand, and driving with an
expired license. Records also indicate he failed to appear in court on all
three charges.
According to State officials, Labor Day weekend is one of the deadliest drunk driving holiday weekends of the year. Data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
shows that more than half (55 percent) of the nation’s 2006 traffic
fatalities occurred on rural roads. In Maryland, the proportion of
impaired drivers involved in crashes is more than 50 percent higher in
the rural areas as compared to other areas of the State.
Local police were scheduled to combat drunk drivers this weekend using sobriety checkpoints and patrols as part of Maryland’s 2008 Checkpoint Strikeforce campaign.
The Sheriff's Office Collision Reconstruction Team is currently conducting the investigation.
Jeff Smith contributed to this report.