Driver Is Killed In Crash With Calvert Deputy

A Calvert County sheriff's deputy, responding to an emergency call, crashed into another car in Dunkirk on Friday morning, killing the other driver, authorities said.

Shortly before 10:45 a.m., Deputy C. Wayne Wells was traveling north on Route 4 at high speed with his cruiser's lights and sirens on in response to a domestic violence call, 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 was pronounced dead at the scene. The sheriff's department was awaiting dental records Friday to identify her.

The cruiser flipped in the crash, and Wells was pinned inside, Evans said.

Responders arrived immediately and freed Wells in about 45 minutes, said Lt. Col. Thomas C. Hejl of the Calvert County Sheriff's Office.

Wells was flown to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, Evans said. His injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, Hejl said.

Hejl said at the time of the crash that Wells "was conscious, alert. He was banged up pretty good and got some cuts."

Wells, 34, has no history of accidents, Hejl said. He joined the department two years ago after five years at the Calvert County Detention Center, where he was 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."

Michael Mower, who works across the highway from the scene of the crash, said he did not hear sirens, just the sound of the crash.

"We didn't hear anything. It was the impact that we heard first," said Mower, who works at the Quinn Patent office on Route 4 near Apple Way.

Mower said that after hearing the noise of tires skidding and the impact, he looked out the front window and saw fire and smoke.

According to a preliminary report from the deputy following Wells, Evans said, the cruiser's lights and sirens were on, as required. An investigation was continuing, he said, and any witnesses should contact his office.

"Our prayers go to the family of the victim. Everybody from the sheriff's office feels for the family of the deceased," he said.