Calvert Officer Responding to Call Hits Car, Killing Driver
Witness: 'There Was No Chance for Him to Stop'
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Saturday, July 25, 2009
A Calvert County sheriff's deputy, responding to an emergency call with his lights and siren on, crashed into a car in Dunkirk on Friday, killing the other driver, authorities said.
Shortly before 10:45 a.m., Deputy C. Wayne Wells was traveling northbound on Route 4 at high speed in response to a report of domestic violence, Sheriff Mike Evans said. A woman driving a passenger vehicle tried to make a left turn onto Apple Way from southbound Route 4 and pulled out in front of Wells's cruiser, Evans said.
"There was another deputy following him that saw the whole thing," Evans said. "There was no chance for him to stop."
Wells struck the other vehicle, which caught fire, Evans said. The driver of that car was pronounced dead at the scene.
The sheriff's department is awaiting dental records to make a positive identification of the woman.
The crash caused the cruiser to flip over, and the deputy was pinned inside, Evans said.
Responders arrived immediately, said Lt. Col. Thomas C. Hejl of the Calvert County Sheriff's Office. It took them about 45 minutes to free Wells.
Wells was flown to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, Evans said. His injuries do not appear to be life-threatening, Hejl said. The deputy is being held overnight for observation and is expected to be released Saturday, officials said. Hejl said that at the time of the crash Wells "was conscious, alert. He was banged up pretty good and got some cuts."
The 34-year-old deputy does not have a history of accidents, Hejl said. He joined the department two years ago after working at the Calvert County Detention Center for five years. While at the detention center, Wells was named Corrections Officer of the Year.
"It is just an absolute terrible tragedy," Hejl said. "He is responding to a call where there is a potential for extreme violence when something like this happens. It is just very, very tragic."
Evans added: "Our prayers go to the family of the victim. Everybody from the sheriff's office feels for the family of the deceased."
State police responded to the domestic violence report.
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