The Student News Site of Walt Whitman High School

The Black and White

The Student News Site of Walt Whitman High School

The Black and White

The Student News Site of Walt Whitman High School

The Black and White

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March 21, 2024

Three Clarksburg juniors killed in car crash

Three Clarksburg students were tragically killed in a car crash at 11:30 p.m. June 7, just hours before graduation day, leaving the entire Montgomery County community in mourning.

In the face of this tragedy, the community has come together, having a moment of silence during yesterday’s graduation ceremony and remembering their lives at last night’s vigil. Friends and family have been visiting the site of the crash and remembering the students on social media through #clarksburgstrong.

Damascus High School juniors Courtney Witmer, 16, left, and Baleigh Louro, 17, visit the crash site. Photo by Amanda Voisard/For the Washington Post.
Damascus High School juniors Courtney Witmer, 16, left, and Baleigh Louro, 17, visit the crash site. Photo by Amanda Voisard/For the Washington Post.

The driver of the pickup truck, 17-year-old Jacob Tyler Dennis, veered off of Burnt Hill Road, an infamously narrow and winding street located in a rural strip of Damascus, and crashed into multiple trees, Fox News reports. Eighteen-year-old Patrick Andrew Shifflett and 17-year-old Cary Greene were passengers in the vehicle. All three students were juniors and played on the Clarksburg football team.

Shifflett and Dennis died at the scene while Green was declared dead shortly after arriving at Suburban Hospital.

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Police said that speed and a lack of driving experience were the causes of the crash, according to The Washington Post.

This is the second consecutive year that the end of the MCPS school year has concluded with a deadly car crash; last June was marked by the death of two Wooton students.

“This is a horrible tragedy in so many ways,” principal Alan Goodwin said. “That is why we had a moment of silence [at our graduation].”

Clarksburg’s principal sent out a letter informing the community saying that he will keep them updated as the memorial or funeral plans are released.

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