Driver Who Hit Crowd, Killing 8, Is Charged

Bullock is scheduled to turn himself in tomorrow, authorities said.

James Michael Walls, Bullock's uncle who raised him from childhood, said his nephew continues to say he did nothing wrong. Walls said Bullock, a father of three young children, was offered a chance to testify before the grand jury yesterday and declined. Walls said Bullock declined because he already told his story to police.

Walls said Bullock told him he was not speeding or racing and had his lights on. "That's what I'm getting from him," Walls said. "If it comes out that he was drag racing, then he was drag racing. I mean, I would be totally surprised and floored."

Bullock has run afoul of the law before. On March 27, a District Court judge in Charles sentenced Bullock to 32 hours of community service to resolve an earlier charge of driving with a suspended license. On May 25, he was charged in Charles with unauthorized removal of property and released on a $3,000 bond. That case is pending.

On the morning of the crash, Bullock was driving his 1999 Crown Victoria, and Taylor was behind the wheel of a Mercury Marquis, the source said. Bullock told his uncle that he saw the silhouettes of dozens of spectators on the road and slammed on his brakes. The car smashed into the crowd.

"He doesn't remember seeing smoke" from the other racing cars, Walls said two days after the crash. "All he remembers was coming into a crowd of people."

Bullock walked away from his crumpled car with a bruised lip, and his older brother, who was in the passenger seat, was not seriously injured, Walls said.

Ivey declined to say whether police had identified the two drivers in the race the spectators had gathered to watch.

During the news conference, Ivey spoke of the perils posed by illegal street racing.

"I think there's certainly an enormous attachment to street racing in Southern Maryland that I hadn't realized was there," Ivey said at his afternoon news conference. "I do think it's a major problem. It's clear people need to understand how dangerous this activity can be."

According to law enforcement sources and fans of street races, there is no schedule for such contests. Whenever a driver calls for a race, news spreads quickly throughout the tightknit racing community.

Street racers and fans communicate using cellphones, e-mail and text messages.

Fans, sometimes by the hundreds, gather on an isolated highway for the races. The races provide thrills, bragging rights and sometimes the chance to win thousands of dollars, say those familiar with the pastime. But the races also frighten neighbors, and police say it is difficult to stamp out competitions because the locations shift. "What starts off as an innocent, harmless speed contest all too often ends up with someone injured or killed," said Vernon Herron, Prince George's public safety director.

Yesterday's indictments brought closure for some relatives.

"It's not going to bring my son back, but it means that justice will be done for him," said Ervin Gardner Sr. of Kinston, N.C., whose 39-year-old son was killed. "I remember after it happened how the police defended the driver. They went out of their way to talk about how it had been an accident and how he was innocent. They wouldn't even give me his name, even though all I wanted it for was to try to find out what happened to my son."

Besides Ervin Gardner Jr. of Oxon Hill, the others killed in the crash were Otis Williams, 35, of Indian Head; Mark Courtney, 33, of Leonardtown; Daryl Wills, 38, of Clinton; Maycol Lopez, 20, of Gaithersburg; Blaine Briscoe, 49, of La Plata; William Gaines, 61, of Nanjemoy; and Milton Pinkney, 41, of La Plata.

Staff writers Matt Zapotosky and James Hohmann, researcher Meg Smith and graphics editor Dita Smith contributed to this report.