Point of Rocks woman, two from Va. killed in four-vehicle crash

December 28, 2007

POINT OF ROCKS, Md. ? A Frederick County, Md., woman and a Virginia man and his son were identified by Maryland State Police today as those who died Thursday night in an accident in Frederick County.

Police said the dead are Jennifer M. Adel Carter, 27, of Point of Rocks; and Robert S. Stegner, 49, and his son, Sean M. Stegner, 14, both of Clifton, Va.

Police said the accident, which involved four vehicles, occurred shortly before 5:30 p.m. on U.S. 15, south of the U.S. 340 split and north of Point of Rocks.

In a press release, officers said Robert Stegner was driving a 2005 Chrysler Town and County minivan south on U.S. 15. They said Carter was driving a 2003 Cadillac Escalade north on the highway.

The other two vehicles involved in the crash were a 2005 Chevrolet Silverado, driven by James L. Cornett Jr., 40, of Point of Rocks, and a 2007 Honda Element, driven by Kevin R. Strauss, 38, of Columbia, Md. Both were alone in their vehicles and neither required hospitalization, police said.

Officers said their preliminary investigation showed that the Cadillac SUV driven by Carter struck the left rear of the northbound Honda Element. "Troopers are unsure at this time if Carter was attempting to pass the Honda or ran up on the vehicle when the first crash occurred," the press release said.

It said the impact caused the Cadillac to cross into the southbound lane, where it struck the Chrysler minivan head-on and sideswiped the Chevrolet pickup.

Police said Carter wasn't wearing a seatbelt. They said both Stegners and the other two drivers were wearing them.

In the press release, police said that "moments before the crash, at least one call had been received by the Frederick County Sheriff's Office reporting a Cadillac SUV passing vehicles on the shoulder of" U.S. 15 north of Point of Rocks. "The speed of the Cadillac at the time of the crash has not been determined," the release said.

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