Pregnant Woman Dies After Crash; 4 Injured

A Lexington Park woman who was five months pregnant went into cardiac arrest and died Tuesday after she was involved in a multi-vehicle crash that also seriously injured her mother, her 2-year-old son and two others, authorities said.

The crash occurred about 6:35 p.m. near Point Lookout Road and Aster Drive in the St. Mary's County community of Calloway. Relatives and authorities said Crystal Hall, 24, was stopped in the southbound lane of Point Lookout Road, waiting to turn into the subdivision where her mother lived, when a 2002 Ford F-350 pickup struck her car from behind.

The impact sent Hall's 1994 Mercury Sable into northbound traffic, where it collided head-on with a 1997 Mercury Marquis, authorities said. Also in the Sable were Hall's son, Thomas Farrell V, and her mother, Catherine Hall, 51.

Authorities said the people in the Marquis were injured. The driver of the truck and his juvenile passenger were not hurt, they said.

The driver of the pickup, James Tippett, 39, of Piney Point, was trying to go around Hall's car in a special shoulder lane meant for passing, authorities said. The truck apparently did not make it all the way into that lane and clipped Hall's car, said Capt. Terry L. Black, commander of the patrol division for the St. Mary's County Sheriff's Office.

Joseph Moschler III, 19, of Leonardtown was driving the Marquis. He said he was on his way home from Food Lion, where he had picked up some bread, when the Sable came flying toward him.

"I looked up, and suddenly I just saw the white car," Moschler said. "I really didn't get to see anything. It happened, and then I got whisked away pretty fast."

Moschler said that his car caught fire shortly after the crash and that he worked quickly to remove his 13-year-old sister from the passenger seat. Although he was using crutches Wednesday, he said he and his sister were generally all right. "I got pretty banged up and some stitches. . . . It was long a day," he said.

The Halls weren't so lucky.

Crystal Hall suffered severe injuries as a result of the crash and went into cardiac arrest at the scene, authorities and relatives said. She was taken to St. Mary's Hospital, where she died.

Hall lived with her mother in Lexington Park, said her aunt, Susan Cantrell.

Cantrell said Catherine Hall and her grandson Thomas were hospitalized and were undergoing surgery. Catherine Hall, who uses a wheelchair and receives disability payments because of spina bifida, suffered multiple leg fractures, Cantrell said. Thomas suffered a lacerated liver, broken leg and a serious injury to his head, she said. Relatives expect them to live, she said.

Authorities said that neither Crystal nor Catherine Hall was wearing a seatbelt and that the 2-year-old was not in a car seat.

Black said no charges or citations have been filed in the crash. He said the case would be reviewed by the state's attorney's office, as is standard procedure for fatal crashes. Speed and alcohol were not believed to be factors in the accident, he said.

Anyone with information about the collision is asked to call Deputy Michael George at 301-475-4200, Ext. 2269

Staff researcher Meg Smith contributed to this report.