Keedysville man dies in accident

February 05, 2008|By HEATHER KEELS

KEEDYSVILLE -- A Keedysville man died early Sunday in an accident on Interstate 68 near Bruceton Mills, W.Va., according to the Preston County (W.Va.) Sheriff's Department.

Joseph Michael "Joey" Ellis, 22, a 2004 Boonsboro High School graduate, was pronounced dead at the scene, deputies said.

Ellis, who was in his fourth year at Frostburg (Md.) State University, was westbound on I-68 when his 2000 Chrysler 300 went off the road into the median near mile marker 19 about 4:03 a.m., deputies said. The vehicle struck a drainage culvert and overturned several times, coming to rest on the edge of the eastbound lane, deputies said.

The sheriff's department was continuing to investigate the crash Monday, but said speed was determined to have been a factor.

Ellis' sister, Kelly Ellis of Keedysville, said she thought her brother might have been heading to Morgantown, W.Va., to meet someone for a donation to his fraternity.

Ellis, a business major, was a member of the Omicron Chi chapter of the Delta Sigma Pi Professional Fraternity for Business at Frostburg, she said.

"He was an outstanding guy, one of those go-getters in life," Kelly Ellis said. "He was always out doing something."

In high school, Ellis was involved in the chess club, Habitat for Humanity and the student council, she said.

After graduating from Frostburg, Ellis planned to seek a master's degree from a school in California, she said.

Kelly Ellis said her brother was outgoing, fun-loving and affectionate.

"He's going to be very missed," she said.

Funeral services will be Thursday at 11 a.m. at Osborne Funeral Home in Williamsport, followed by burial in Fairview Cemetery in Keedysville.

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