RUSSO: Good morning. It's Friday, February 13th, and from our Princess Anne Studios here in the campus of the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, I'm Bryan Russo, and here are the local headlines. A Salisbury University student is dead, and two others were injured after their car veered off a road and into an icy pond on Wednesday night. Delmarva Public Media's Kevin Diaz has the details.
DIAZ: Their car, reportedly driven at high speed, crashed through a guardrail and careened into Coulbourn Mill Pond. The water Wednesday night was frigid, and ice covered much of the surface. Matthew Garcia, 18, of Rockville, Maryland lost his life in the crash. State Police believed he was the driver of a Honda Civic that was seen on South Division Street at Coulbourn Mill, where he went through a stop sign, missed a turn, and struck a guardrail before crashing through the icy water. Two passengers in the Honda were identified as Andy Fon Koh, 18, of Tacoma Park and Eyuael Zewdie, 18, of Washington D.C. Koh was flown by Maryland State Police Aviation Command to a shock trauma center for treatment. Zewdie was transported by ambulance to Tidal Health Peninsula Regional. Garcia also was flown by Maryland State Police Aviation Command to a trauma center where he was later pronounced deceased.
Fruitland Police said they arrived at the scene shortly after 8:30 PM Wednesday to what was reported as a single car crash. They found the vehicle mostly submerged in the freezing cold water. The Fruitland Fire Department, Salisbury Fire Department, Salisbury Special Operations and Sharptown Dive team all responded to the scene. Crews reportedly rescued one person from the top of the car while two people were trapped inside. They used boats and firetruck ladders to reach them. Witnesses said rescuers had to battle ice to get to the submerged car, which had traveled some distance from the shoreline. Emergency responder logs indicate that the occupants of the car could have been in the water as long as 20 minutes or more before divers were able to reach them and bring them back to shore. The incident follows another single car crash near Snow Hill in September that claimed the lives of two University of Maryland Eastern Shore students. State Police said their preliminary investigation on Wednesday's accident indicated that upon entering the intersection, Garcia failed to at a stop sign and then attempted to steer through a turn. He continued westbound before striking the top of the guardrail and coming to arrest at Coulbourn Mill Pond. Police belief speeding may have been a factor in the crash. At the request of the Fruitland Police Department, the Maryland State Crash team is leading an ongoing investigation.
RUSSO: In a statement to the campus community late Thursday afternoon, SU President Carolyn Lepre expressed her profound sadness as she shared that Garcia had been a freshman at SU and was an international business student in the Purdue School of Business. Lepre said that while classes will not be canceled on Friday, attendance will be optional for students, and she advised faculty to use class time to review and [provide] individual academic support rather than introduce any new material.
In Ocean City, longtime city Councilman Tony DeLuca abruptly resigned from his post on Sunday after he had been cleared of wrongdoing, stemming from an official complaint that was filed to question the legitimacy of his residency. DeLuca had been accused of not living in the town in which he was serving by a formal council candidate who had been disqualified for the same reason during the last election cycle. DeLuca had been allegedly splitting time between a small condominium in Ocean City and a much larger home in Annapolis. While the town's charter couldn't technically oust DeLuca from his post, criticism from his fellow council members may have been one of the reasons he filed for immediate resignation last Sunday. Bethany Hooper is a reporter for the OC Today dispatch, and she covers the resort.
HOOPER: There were, I believe, three council members at the time that expressed their displeasure of having DeLuca put them in this position of deciding to oust him.
RUSSO: Ocean City will now be forced to hold a special election to fill his seat as DeLuca's resignation is more than 150 days prior to the next scheduled election. Here in Princess Anne, we're sitting under clear skies with Northwest winds nearing seven miles per hour and temperatures hovering right under 28 degrees. I'm Bryan Russo. Have a wonderful morning.
