Two killed in Newburg car crash

Two people died after their vehicles collided into each other last Friday morning in Newburg.

Maryland State Police said at about 11:15 a.m., Betty Jo Saunders, 72, of Newburg was driving her Chrysler 300M westbound on Rock Point Road when, for unknown reasons, she crossed over the yellow double center line and hit a 2014 Ford F-150, driven by Joseph Harvey Edelen, 67, also of Newburg, who was heading east on the same road. Saunders struck Edelen’s vehicle head-on, and both drivers were trapped in their vehicles.

According to the MSP press release, Saunders was pronounced

dead at the scene. Edelen was extricated by fire department personnel and treated on the scene

by paramedics. He was then transported to the University of Maryland Charles Regional Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at about 12:30 p.m.

Saunders and Edelen were transported to the

Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy.

The Maryland State Police CRASH Team, deputies from the Charles County Sheriff’s Office and personnel from the State Highway Administration

assisted on the scene. The Cobb Island Volunteer Fire Department, the Newburg Volunteer Fire Department, the Charles County Department of Emergency Services EMS Division and the Maryland State

Police Aviation Command also assisted on the scene.

This investigation is being conducted by Sgt. C.M. Bowling, a collision reconstruction specialist with the Maryland State Police La Plata Barrack. Investigators are asking anyone who may have witnessed, or who has information regarding the accident, to contact the La Plata Barrack duty officer at 301-392-1200 and reference case number 17-MSP-029550.