Police: Speed, alcohol factors in late-night Sparks crash
Baltimore County police have cited a man with drunken driving after a crash killed a senior couple and severely injured their passenger.
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| Charles Edward Wagner, Jeannine Shirley Wagner |
The crash happened just before 10 p.m. Thursday on York Road near Thornton Mill Road, just north of the intersection of Shawan Road in the Sparks area.
Leroy Richardson, who lives less than 100 yards away from the scene, said it sounded like a bomb went off.
"I was watching TV and I heard a big boom (like) a big explosion," Richardson said.
Investigators said the driver of a Hyundai Sonata, who was heading north on York Road near McCormick Road, crossed the center line and hit a Hyundai Tucson. The Sonata then crossed back over the line and was hit by a Dodge Dart.
Investigators identified the Sonata's driver as Eric James Stewart, 22, of Sparks, and said he suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to Shock Trauma.
The driver of the Dart, Brandon Thomas Walsh, 23, of Sparks, wasn't injured.
Police are charging Stewart and Walsh with DUI. Stewart was determined to be the at-fault driver in the crash, police said.
"Crash team investigators believe alcohol and speed were factors in this crash, and they will continue the investigation. In addition, the state's attorney will be conducting a review," Baltimore County police Cpl. John Wachter said.
Police said 85-year-old Charles Edward Wagner and 84-year-old Jeannine Shirley Wagner, who were in the Tucson, were pronounced dead at the scene. Their passenger, 79-year-old Mary Antoinette Warner, was flown to Shock Trauma with critical injuries.
The Wagners' neighbors are trying to make sense of such a tremendous loss.
"There's not one bad thing I can even possibly say about them. They were just the most thoughtful, kind people," said Merry Fleishman, a neighbor.
Police delivered the worst possible news to the Cromwell Valley neighborhood in Towson on Friday morning. The Wagners, married for 62 years, were the first to move into the neighborhood 55 years ago.
"They'd reach out to you, give you flowers over the holidays. (They'd) come out and, when we'd see each other, talk. They'd always have a hug to share. Just really sweet," said Marcie Barth, a neighbor.
Charles Wagner, known by the nickname "Chub," was a former lacrosse player at Johns Hopkins University and a huge lacrosse fan. Jeannine Wagner had a beautiful singing voice. Neighbors said both were very active in church and were always on the move.
"In this day and age when we know better than to be drinking and driving, I just hope people will become more aware when accidents like this happen," Barth said.
"The only thing is that because they were so in love, it's not like one has passed and the other one would be by themselves, and that's the only thing I can think that is a comfort (is) that they're together," Fleishman said.
Neighbors said the Wagners left behind a son and grandchildren.
According to the Maryland State Police, not including this crash, 98 people have been killed in drunken driving crashes in Maryland this year. Last year, 138 people died.
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