Maryland car crash kills local girl, 10

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by Andrew Schunk

Editor

A 32-year-old Virginia man remains in custody in a Maryland jail following a fatal two-vehicle collision that killed 10-year-old Twinsburg resident Jasmine Warr and injured three of her family members.

Michael Dean Eaton, of Fairfax, Va., who police say was driving the vehicle that struck Warr's family car Aug. 21, could not be reached for comment. Eaton has been charged with failure to remain at the scene of a death. A Montgomery County District Court commissioner set his bond at $250,000 during an Aug. 25 arraignment, according to the court's clerk's office.

No plea was entered by Eaton at that time, according to Seth Zucker, a spokesperson with the Maryland State Attorney's Office. More charges may be forthcoming for Eaton, who is being held at the Montgomery County Jail, according to the state attorney's office.

An attorney for Eaton was not immediately known.

Also injured in the accident on Interstate 270 near Rockville, Md., were Jasmine's parents, William J. Warr, 53, and Angela Warr, 45; and sister Cortavia Harris, 11, all of Darrow Road.

William and Angela Warr were transported by ambulance to a Maryland hospital and later released with non-life threatening injuries, according to an Aug. 22 release from the Maryland State Police Department. Police spokespersons said Harris remains in stable condition at a children's hospital in Maryland.

Also killed in the accident was the family's black labrador retriever, which was ejected from the 1995 Jeep Cherokee being driven by William Warr.

Neither Jasmine nor Cortavia attended Twinsburg Schools, according to Twinsburg Superintendent Steve Marlow.

According to Maryland police, witnesses say Eaton was traveling in a 2005 Range Rover "at a high rate of speed" when he allegedly slammed into the back of the Warrs' vehicle just before midnight Aug. 21. The Warrs' vehicle came to a stop a short distance later on I-270.

Police allege Eaton continued "for a short distance" after the accident, then exited his vehicle and fled on foot.

It was not immediately known who contacted police following the accident, though a Maryland State Police Department spokesperson said she believed it was another motorist who witnessed the accident.

According to police, another driver noticed the family's dog stumbling a short distance away from the scene of the crash, and transported the animal to the Metropolitan Emergency Animal Clinic in Rockville, Md., where the dog was treated but did not survive.

Maryland State Police Department spokesperson Elena Russo said Eaton turned himself in to the state police Rockville Barracks at approximately 2:30 p.m. Aug. 22 without incident.

According to Russo, lanes were closed on southbound I-270 for approximately five-and-a-half hours while personnel from the State Highway Administration assisted with detours.

The Maryland State Police Aviation Command, the Montgomery County Police Department and the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Department also responded to the scene, according to a release from the Maryland State Police.

The case remains under investigation, Russo said.

E-mail: aschunk@recordpub.com

Phone: 330-688-0088 ext. 3170