1 Killed, 2 Hurt As Car, Stolen ATV Crash After Chase

One person was killed and two others injured early yesterday when a Clinton man trying to avoid police drove a stolen ATV the wrong way down a busy Southern Maryland highway and collided with an oncoming car, authorities said.

The all-terrain vehicle's driver, Aaron D. Williams, 24, was transported to Prince George's Hospital Center, where he was later pronounced dead. According to police, Williams was headed north in the southbound lanes of Route 301 when he crashed head-on into a Dodge Neon traveling south.

Williams had been involved in a pursuit with Charles County sheriff's deputies, police said, but that pursuit had ended before the crash.

Also injured in the crash were Williams's passenger, Theodora N. Norris, 24, of Clinton, and the Neon's driver, Randy C. Barnett, 59, of Waldorf. Each was being treated at the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center yesterday for injuries that were not life-threatening, police said.

The crash occurred just before 2 a.m. yesterday near Route 301 and Cedarville Road in southern Prince George's, police said.

The pursuit of Williams began at 1:24 a.m. in Waldorf when a Charles sheriff's deputy spotted two ATVs traveling north on Route 301 near Waldorf Liquors. Suspecting that the vehicles were stolen, the deputy attempted to pull them over for driving illegally on the highway, said Capt. Robert L. Cleaveland of the Charles County Sheriff's Office.

"It's kind of unique to see two ATVs traveling along 301 in the middle of the night," he said, adding that police had recently received reports of stolen ATVs from a business nearby.

The vehicle involved in the crash had been reported stolen in Fairfax County, said Elena Russo, a spokeswoman for the Maryland State Police. The driver of the other ATV apparently got away, police said.

The ATVs, each carrying a passenger, took off, traveling briefly on Old Washington Road before veering back onto northbound Route 301, Cleaveland said. At Sub Station Road, one of the drivers cut into Route 301's southbound lanes but continued north, he said.

The deputy, whose name police did not release, continued to pursue the other vehicle traveling north in the correct lanes, Cleaveland said. The deputy ended that chase near the Charles-Prince George's line on the orders of his supervisor, he said.

"At that time, it was a traffic violation, and the supervisor determined that it was appropriate to discontinue the chase," Cleaveland said.

As the deputy attempted to make a U-turn at Cedarville Road to head back into Charles County, he noticed that the driver of the other ATV had been in a head-on collision with a southbound car, Cleaveland said.

The deputy, who did not see the crash, called emergency services and administered first aid to the three victims, Cleaveland said.