The site of a deadly street racing crash in Accokeek was briefly silenced again Wednesday while an accident-reconstruction unit resurveyed the scene where 14 people were killed or injured on Saturday.
Prince George’s County police remeasured numerous parts of the two-lane highwaystill bearing gruesome reminders of spray paint noting the 14 victims who were also propelled into the median strip and shoulder. Ninety days might be needed before officials decide whether driver Darren Jamar Bullock of Waldorf will be charged. Bullock struck the crowd standing on Route 210 in the pre-dawn race.
Sources close to the investigation said Wednesday police are seeking another vehicle spotted by witnesses at the scene of the crash.
More than 200 people assembled for the race before spilling into the road afterward, according to those with knowledge of the event. Several bystanders say Bullock was driving with his lights off and never saw the victims.
Passers-by continued to stream by the site that was later covered by a light snow, often stopping for photos or quick moments of silence.
More than 20 memorials dotted the site that’s midway down a three-mile rural stretch near the Prince George’s-Charles county line. Local residents and Prince George’s County police officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the flat highway allows spotters to alert racers to police.
Southern Maryland has long been a street-racing playground. Until its tobacco fields and forests began yielding to suburban sprawl in the 1990s, its plentiful side roads were perfect for illegal street racing.
Car clubs are a social staple with regular meetings in local shopping centers. There is one for Corvettes, Mustangs and other classic cars. In a region with few diversions and a disdain for crowded roads inside the Beltway, cars remain a fellowship on country roads.
Sources say the races have recently increased in the Bryans Road area as well as at nearby Marshall Hall and Nanjemoy.
The recent rise of illegal street racing comes as legal racing has enjoyed a renaissance at Maryland International Raceway in Budds Creek, Md., about 30 miles from Bryans Road. More than 700 drivers pay $20 each on weekends to run unrestricted or compete over the quarter-mile track before crowds that range into the thousands.
“Competition is a driving force,” said MIR President Royce Miller. “Male egos. We make [cars] look better and go faster than our buddies and our rivals. It’s the human instinct to be competitive.”
The legal track is growing in popularity, locals said, in part because of fears of the court and insurance costs associated with getting busted racing on the streets.
“The track gives you a different kind of high because you don’t have to worry about a ticket while doing 110 [mph],” said Vince Morelli, a member of the Southern Maryland Corvette Club.
