Police have identified Calvin Li, 18, and Alexander Murk, 18, as the two teens killed in a fatal single-vehicle collision late Thursday night in North Potomac.
Sam Ellis, 18, the former quarterback at Thomas S. Wootton High School, who graduated this year, was identified as the driver. Ellis, of North Potomac, is in life-threatening condition at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda, according to police.
Murk and Li were sitting in the backseat at the time of the collision, police said. The fourth passenger, a 17-year-old boy who was not identified by police, was transported to Suburban with minor injuries.
Police said a preliminary investigation found that the teens had attended an underage drinking party in the area before the collision. At a Friday afternoon press conference, Police Captain Tom Didone said they're investigating the circumstances surrounding the party, which also took place in North Potomac.
Didone said the two back passengers were not wearing seat belts and that alcohol and speed may have been other factors in the fatal collision.
Friends of the victims were at the crash scene across from Travilah Elementary School on Friday morning.
“They were both really good kids,” John Spies, 18, said. Spies said he was going to be roommates with Li at the University of Maryland this fall.
“Alex was the nicest kid on earth… and one of the funniest kids I know. They always had my back,” Spies said.
Andrew Azarso, 18, said he saw the young men Thursday night around 11 p.m. among friends.
“I said ‘I’ll see you later’ and then I found out at 10 a.m. they had died,” Azarso said.
The two friends were in shock at the scene Friday. They stood near a makeshift memorial with a basketball and football placed beneath a cross that had a small American flag bandana draped over it. Together, they walked to the spot where the car had come to a rest in the driveway at a home in the 13800 block of Dufief Mill Road.
The car had been cleared from the driveway by 11 a.m. Friday, but pictures taken at the scene this morning showed the vehicle burnt out, resting on its roof and missing its rear axle.
Police said the 2006 Acura TSX left the roadway around 11:50 p.m. Thursday, struck a tree head-on, then struck several fences and came to a rest in the driveway.
Katie Nucci, 17, a recent Wootton graduate, said she has known Li since middle school and also knew Murk.
“I’ve known them forever,” Nucci said. “I remember my very first homecoming when I danced with Alex.”
Ellis had been accepted to the University of South Carolina. In 2013, Ellis broke the state record with 557 passing yards in a game against Rockville High School. Li played wide receiver for the Wootton team. Murk attended Wootton High School as well, according to police.
