A 15-year-old boy is dead and four others are injured after a fiery crash just outside of Damascus on Monday night.
The group of teens was riding westbound on Hawkins Creamery Road in a Volvo station wagon at about 9 p.m. when the car went off the road near Johnson Farm Drive and crashed into a tree, investigators said. Shortly after the crash, the car caught fire.
Another driver, a 45-year-old Gaithersburg man who witnessed the crash, stopped and attempted to put the fire out. He also removed many of the teens from their vehicle and directed other bystanders to call 911.
Ryan Didone, 15, of Gaithersburg, was flown to Maryland Shock Trauma in Baltimore, where he died as a result of his injuries.
"You can't blame anybody," said Montgomery County Police Department Capt. Tom Didone, Ryan's father. "It's just bad circumstances, but even your own kids are not invincible."
The driver of the Volvo has been identified as Zachary Kimble, 17, of Damascus. He was transported to Montgomery General Hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
Brittany Jones, 16, of Damascus, was flown to Maryland Shock Trauma in critical condition.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
Christopher Nicholson, 17, of Germantown, was transported to Suburban Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Kirstin Newport, 15, of Damascus, was transported to Suburban Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
The group of teens was headed home from a youth ministry meeting at a church to a Burger King. Alcohol was not a factor in the crash, but Ryan and the two other passengers in the back seat were not wearing seat belts, Montgomery County police Lt. Paul Starks said.
Anyone who may have any information about the crash should call police at 301-840-2435.
