A 17-year-old senior at Gonzaga College High School was killed, and three other students were hurt, in a two-car crash on the inner loop of the Capital Beltway early Saturday.
Maryland State Police said the accident occurred just past exit 41 (Clara Barton Parkway) shortly after 2 a.m. The crash temporarily closed the inner lanes of the Beltway.
A preliminary investigation revealed that a Honda Accord was disabled on the side of the road when it was struck by a Jeep Compass in the left rear. The victim, Dominik Liam Pettey, 17, of Potomac, was sitting in a passenger seat in the back.
A letter posted on Gonzaga's Facebook page from Thomas K. Every, the school's headmaster, said that another student, Patrick "PJ" Johannessen, had been sent to intensive care. Two other Gonzaga students suffered non-life-threatening injuries, and one other passenger was not hurt.
Investigators said the driver of the Jeep, Margaret Christine Baisley, 24, of Rockville, displayed signs of being impaired. Charges are pending.
