CLARKSBURG, Md. - A passenger is dead and driver injured after their car struck a wooden power pole in an early morning crash Thursday in Clarksburg.

The driver, Richard Daehyung Chong, 18, of Boyds, Md., was taken to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries. His passenger, 18-year-old Tae Kyo Seo, also of Boyds, was pronounced dead at the scene, police say. Both occupants were wearing their seat belts.

The crash happened shortly after 3 a.m. at the intersection of Frederick Road and Running Brook Drive, where, for unknown reasons, the vehicle, described by police as a blue 2006 BMW M3, crossed over into the northbound lanes of Frederick Road and struck a pole.

Friends, both young and old, church members and relatives flocked to the home of 18-year-old Seo Thursday afternoon, while just about a mile away from the home, work crews converged on the scene of the crash.

Associate Pastor of Bethany Presbyterian Church in Gaithersburg Sam Kim was with Erik's mom when she got the news. She and a group were on their way to Harrisonburg to check out a facility for an upcoming church retreat. Kim says the mother speaks little English so he took the phone.

"She couldn't understand what the detectives were saying but I didn't tell her until we came back home," Kim said.

Back at home, were Erik's two younger sisters and father. Kim says the family is now together and in mourning, trying to make sense of the tragedy.

The two boys, who once attended Clarksburg High School together, were also close friends through the same church. Now, two families are in need of counseling and time to heal.

Anyone with information about the collision is asked to contact the Collision Reconstruction Unit at 301-840-2435. The investigation is continuing.

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