Two 17-year-olds died and an 18-year-old suffered serious injuries when a car slammed into a pole in Waldorf, Maryland, Friday afternoon.
The force of the crash split the car in two and sent part of the car across the intersection of Smallwood Drive and St. Nicholas Drive near the St. Charles Town Center. Colin C. Bipat, 17, and Desmond L. Cooke, 17, died at the scene. The two were seniors at Westlake High School.
The car was traveling east on Smallwood and approached stopped traffic about 12:40 p.m. Witnesses said it was driven at high speed.
"The speed was so super fast," witness Sudhir Manocha said. "My truck shook. I drive a big truck, and it shook. And I said, 'Why? What's wrong with this kid? Why is he driving so fast?'
"So next thing I see, he reaches this traffic light, and there was a car in front of him, so what I'm guessing is, to avoid hitting the car, he must have turned to his left, lost control and hit that pole," Manocha said. "That all happened in front of my eyes."
"They had two individuals deceased inside the car,” Maj. Chris Becker of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office said. “There was a third individual located also with life-threatening injuries."
That person, Caleb F. Marshall, 18, was flown to a hospital. Marshall is also a student at Westlake High School.
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"The two young men that lost their lives today are really good young men known throughout the school and a good circle of friends and, you know, always smiling gentlemen, you know, happy," said Westlake High School Principal Michael Meiser.
Meiser said the students were just three months away from graduating.
"It's really a gut shot to the families and to the school, the community, the teachers, the staff," Meiser said.
Police have not said what caused the crash.
