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Spectators killed at street race scene
La Plata man, girlfriend struck along Interstate 70
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
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Submitted photo
Jonathan Robert Henderson and Mary-Kathryn Michele Abernathy were struck and killed Sunday morning along the shoulder of Interstate 70.
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A La Plata man and his girlfriend died early Sunday morning when an out-of-control car smashed into another vehicle as the couple was standing nearby to watch a highway street race, according to Maryland State Police.
Before the Baltimore County accident, Jonathan Robert Henderson, 20, of La Plata and Mary-Kathryn Michele Abernathy, 21, of Columbia had gathered with several other race spectators along the shoulder of Interstate 70, stated the report.
The group started to break up at about 3 a.m. after someone saw a police cruiser, and as Henderson and Abernathy were walking back to their car, a nearby driver lost control of his 2009 Chevrolet Impala, according to the report and Henderson's sister.
The Impala rear-ended a Chevrolet Cavalier, which was stopped on the side of the road. The Cavalier was then shoved into the back of Henderson's parked car, a 1995 Acura Integra. Henderson and Abernathy were next to the Acura during the wreck, the police report stated.
Henderson tried to push Abernathy out of the way, but both were fatally injured in the accident, said his sister, Krista Henderson. Medical personnel pronounced the two dead on the scene.
The Cavalier owner, Paul Alan Duffy, 22, of Elkridge, was standing near his car when the accident happened and was seriously injured, as was the driver of the Impala, Donneil Raeburn, 26, of Pikesville.
Police said they aren't sure why Raeburn lost control of his car and aren't sure whether he was racing, but believe alcohol was a factor in the accident.
Raeburn was flown by helicopter to University of Maryland R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, where he was treated for critical injuries. Duffy, who was seriously wounded, was taken by ambulance to shock trauma. He was treated and released on Sunday, according to Sgt. Arthur Betts, a state police spokesman.
Westbound I-70 was closed for about five hours, according to police.
The road is a known gathering place for drag racers, Betts said, and state police had checked on the spot about an hour before the crash.
No charges have been filed at this time.
The investigation is continuing.
"We're still trying to determine if Mr. Raeburn was racing before the crash, or if he was one of the spectators who was hurrying away from the shoulder or if he was just a motorist passing through," Betts said.
Henderson and Abernathy started dating less than a year ago, but already talked about getting married, said Krista Henderson.
"Mary and John were inseparable. They always thought they'd be together forever," she said.
Henderson did electrical work for CTS Services, Krista Henderson said. He was close to his family and enjoyed hunting, four wheeling and visiting the race track. Henderson wanted to eventually buy a home up in the mountains and have a family of his own, his sister said.
"I don't care whether everyone in the room was sad, he couldn't help but smile because he would find some way to make you happy," Krista Henderson said. "He was basically a breath of fresh air."
Although he liked to watch car races, Henderson's sister said he wouldn't have driven in an illegal race.
Four Charles County residents were among the eight people who died in February 2008 when a car lost control and hit a crowd of street racing spectators standing on Indian Head Highway.
Abernathy's father, David Abernathy, said he hopes Sunday's tragic deaths are a reminder of the risks of illegal racing.
"Two innocent individuals lost their lives. I hope those involved would recognize the dangerousness of street racing," he said.
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