John Matthews
WMAL.com
DAMASCUS, MD — (WMAL) Three teenagers – all students at Clarksburg High School in northern Montgomery County – were killed when the pickup truck they were riding in crashed into a tree late Tuesday night.
Montgomery County police and firefighters received a call just after 11:30pm for the crash on Burnt Hill Road. Detectives say a truck – a 1989 Ford F-150 truck – left the roadway and struck a tree. The driver – 17-year-old Jacob Dennis, died at the scene, as did a passenger, 18-year-old Patrick Shifflett. Another passenger, 17-year-old Cary Greene, died at Suburban Hospital a short time after he was taken there.
The crash remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the Collision Reconstruction Unit at 240-773-6620. Callers may remain anonymous.
Montgomery County Police Captain Paul Starks tells WMAL that investigators have heard the teens may have left a party before the crash. There is no indication at this point that alcohol was a factor in the crash, but police will await toxicology results from the state medical examiner’s office.
The crash took place less than 12 hours before Clarksburg High School’s graduation ceremony, which is set to take place at 10 am Wednesday at Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg.
A Montgomery County Schools spokesman told WMAL that all three victims were juniors, so none would have been graduating today. However, because of graduation, Clarksburg High School is closed – a move which would have given the students opportunities to be out late on Tuesday.
At least two of the teens were members of Clarksburg’s football team. A twitter feed belonging to the school’s football program put out this message Wednesday morning: “Please keep the families of our young men in your hearts and prayers tonight and through this time.”
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