Third Victim in District Heights Crash Identified; Family Speaks Out
posted 11:25 pm Wed August 13, 2008 - District Heights, Md.
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The third victim involved in a fatal pedestrian accident was identified, as residents voice concern over the safety of the road and nearby areas.
The victims, 26-year-old Keylay Smith, five-month-old unborn baby and 30-year-old Derrick Ronell Jones, were killed.
Kisha Slide fought back tears as she looked at the orange evidence paint and the gashed tree left behind by the collision that killed her friend. Slide said her friend, Derrick Jones, often walked down Route 4 and talked about how dangerous it was.
Now many in the neighborhood are talking of the many dangers of walking along the busy road and said they knew something like this would happen one day. There are sidewalks near Silver Hill Road and at Parkdale, but both end mid-block funneling pedestrians onto the shoulder of the busy road. It is a popular passage for people walking and riding bikes.
"It doesn't really surprise me. I'm out here everyday," said resident Ken Washington. "I wish they had sidewalks. This is a very busy street and this is a road known for accidents," said Jones' uncle Donald.
The driver who police say struck and killed the trio has a long record of traffic infractions, according to sources and court records.
The driver, identified as 51-year-old Petrello Cabbagestalk, of District Heights, has been previously charged with speeding, unsafe lane changes, theft and failure to appear, court records indicate. At one point, his driver's license was suspended, ABC 7/NewsChannel 8 has learned.
Officials say Cabbagestalk lost control of the Ford 500 between Silver Hill Road and Parkland Drive, veered off the road, jumped the curb and plunged down the hill into a tree, striking the two pedestrians as he crossed the shoulder.
Krystal Fletcher, Smith's sister who was walking with the group, was not injured. She said she still can't believe her sister was killed this way. "It hit my sister and dragged the dude and that’s when they came flying past me. He need to to go to jail for the rest of his life."
Jones' uncle Donald said police told him it appears the driver was distracted just before the crash. "The guy was reaching for something. He was speeding. He drifted from the far left lane and the young lady didn't see the car."
Smith's mother, Vicky Muhammed, said, "I'm so mad right now because, I mean, there was no reason for him to be this far over to hit anybody." Muhammed spoke to ABC 7 / NewsChannel 8 reporter Alisa Parenti at the scene where her daughter lost her life.
"I was talking to them on the phone the whole time it was happening, when she got threw up in the air," said Muhammed.
Gregory Gilbert saw the whole thing. He was on his way from camp, in a van behind the blue car driving on Pennsylvania Avenue which, Gregory said, was traveling way too fast. "When he tried to get over into the first lane, he lost control of his car."
The car ended up tumbling down a hill and crashed into a tree.
Keylay Smith leaves behind a two-year-old daughter, and Vicky Muhammed says she doesn't know how to tell the child a driver caused the tragedy. "He's still alive; he's at the hospital... and three people are dead, because he doesn't know how to drive on the highway."
Police confirmed that Cabbagestalk was taken to the trauma center and is listed in serious condition.
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