Police in Maryland said an uninvolved driver blinded by exhaust smoke kicked up in an early-morning street race plowed into a crowd of onlookers, killing eight and injuring six.
The deadly wreck happened about 3:40 a.m. Saturday on State Route 210 in Accokeek, reported WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. Veteran officers called it the "worst incident" they have ever seen.
Witnesses said two cars involved in an illegal street race had been revving engines and kicking up smoke, filling the roadway with white clouds. A group of onlookers then moved into the road to watch the race when a white Ford Crown Victoria slammed into the crowd.
The driver told police that he was blinded by white smoke and could not see the people before striking them. Officers said the driver was not involved in the illegal race.
Race observer Crystal Gaines was standing next to her 61-year-old father when the car struck. Gaines grabbed her child but could not help her father, William Gaines Sr., 61, who was among the dead. She said she had hold of his hand, but lost her grip.
"He wasn't breathing, he wasn't moving," she said. "His body was in pieces."
John Courtney said his brother, Mark, 33, of St. Mary's County, also was among the dead. He identified his brother from a digital image police had taken.
Marion Neal feared her brother also was among the dead and was awaiting images from the police.
The conditions of the six people hospitalized were not known Saturday afternoon. Police said all of those killed and hurt were adults.
Police had earlier said that one of the dead was a passenger in the Crown Victoria. Detectives now say the person trapped in the wrecked car was actually an onlooker who was struck. The car came to a rest on an embankment about 150 feet from where the crowd had been.
It was unclear if police had interviewed the drivers of the cars involved in the race. A tractor-trailer truck that came by shortly afterward may also have struck someone on the roadside as it tried to avoid the crash scene, about 20 miles south of Washington, said Prince George's County Police Cpl. Clinton Copeland.
Residents along the stretch of high way about 20 miles south of Washington, D.C., and 55 miles from Baltimore said street racing has long been a problem. The stretch of State Route 210 is relatively straight, with stoplights every 150 to 200 yards and little traffic at night.
Neighbors said they saw more than 200 cars parked in a lot near the crash scene late Friday, and suspected a race was going to happen. They said police have not responded to their complaints about street racing.
Police said it's common in the summer to deal with reports of motorcycles racing on the highway but said they have not had as much of an issue with cars.
