Jun 22, 2009 9:14 am US/Eastern
2 Dead In Balt. Co. Street Racing Related Crash
WOODLAWN, Md. (WJZ) ―
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Two people are dead after a deadly street racing accident in Baltimore County early Sunday morning.
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Watching a street race may have cost two young Marylanders their lives.
Police say the victims were standing along the highway around 3 a.m. when a car drove into them.
Mike Schuh reports the driver of the car is at a local hospital recovering from his injuries. The driver is listed in critical condition at Shock Trauma.
Police continue to investigate whether or not he was racing before the deadly crash.
On Father's Day, the dads of 20-year-old Jonathan Henderson of La Plata and 21-year-old Mary-Kathryn Abernathy of Columbia are grieving after the young couple was killed.
Police say the driver of the mangled sedan 26-year-old Donneil Raeburn smashed into them.
"For reasons that we're still trying to determine he lost control of the vehicle, veered onto the shoulder striking two parked cars," said Sgt. Arthur Betts, a spokesman for Maryland State Police.
Police believe the victims were part of a large crowd that got together to watch a street race.
They say the stretch of Interstate 70 where the accident happened is often used for races.
In fact, troopers patrolled the area twice just an hour before the fatal crash.
Despite constant patrolling police and drivers who frequently use that stretch of I-70 say those in the world of racing have their own tactics which help them dodge law enforcement.
"They'll send other cars miles up the street and they'll have another car this way to look out for police that could be coming," says Tony Brown, a Baltimore County driver.
It's an underground culture that's thrived in Maryland for decades.
In 2008, a street race led to eight deaths along Route 210 in Accokeek, Maryland.
The gruesome scene made international headlines.
Now, there is yet another tragic story of lives which ended too soon.
Abernathy was a student at Howard County Community College, and a member of a national honor society.
One of the victim's neighbors says he didn't know street racing was going on in the county.
"I'm against it personally, it's just, never ends in a good way. I didn't even know we had it in this area to be honest," says Chris Martin.
Police call it a serious and prevalent issue, and drivers like Tony Brown have had enough.
"Just anyone's loved one, it could happen again. No one deserves to go like that," Brown adds.
At this time no charges have been filed in the case but that could change as investigators learn more about what led to the crash.
The victim's families have called for an end to the racing, which they say is a dangerous pastime, which ultimately killed their loved ones.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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