Vincent Whitfield (1940 - 1962)

Died Jul 1962 at about age 22 in Brandywine, Prince George's, Maryland, United States

Biography

• Daily Mail Hagerstown Maryland 1962-07-09: SEVEN KILLED IN HEAD-ON AUTO CRASH AND BABY STILLBORN TO DEAD MOTHER AT SCENE. Brandywine, Maryland. Seven persons were killed today when their speeding convertible, in which they were racing another car, crashed head-on into a third auto.

In addition, State Police said an infant of a pregnant woman killed in the crash was stillborn at the scene 13 miles southeast of Washington, D.C. The dead, all residents of Washington, D.C., heading home from Waldorf in Southern Maryland, were identified as: EVELYN ADAMS, 21. JOHN L. FORD, 22. VINCENT WHITFIELD, 22. JEAN JACKSON, 19. BARBARA HOLLIS, 15. OLIVER ARMSTEAD, 20. JEAN BALL, 22. It was MRS. BALL'S child who was stillborn as a result of the accident on Maryland 5 just north of T.B., Md., in Prince Georges County. Police said all the dead were Negroes. Another occupant of the convertible, JOHN AMOS JOHNSON, 20, also of Washington, was in critical condition in Casualty Hospital, Washington. State Trooper Robert G. Grimes said he and Trooper Rodney Proctor were parked on U.S. 301 where it forks with Maryland 5 at T.B. when the convertible and a late-model sedan raced northward past them, going "well in excess of 100 miles an hour." The troopers took up pursuit. As they died, the sedan -- leading in the race -- passed another car. The officers said the convertible also tried to pass, but in the process sideswiped the other car, spun around, was struck head-on by a southbound vehicle, then flipped over on its roof. "It was the worst I've ever seen," said Trooper Grimes. "You can't imagine." Asked who was driving the death car, he said, "We'll never know." The driver of the southbound car, SALVATORE J. PALAZZOLA, JR., 34, of Lexington Park, Md., suffered a puncture wound of the chest and possible broken ribs. Casualty Hospital said his condition today was serious. There were seven persons in the car being passed in the race. None was injured. Grimes said the sedan leading in the race did not stop after the accident. FORD was pronounced dead on arrival at Casualty Hospital. The other victims all were dead on arrival at Prince Georges Hospital in Cheverly, Md. The accident raised Maryland's highway death toll for the year to 276, compared with 208 on the corresponding date a year ago.

Sources

• 1940 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2012. Census Place: Washington, District of Columbia, District of Columbia; Roll: m-t0627-00554; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 1-40

(Note: The above transcribed article was published in multiple newspapers across the country on 9 Jul 1962. One example is the Gettysburg Times Issue Date: July 10, 1962, page 4.)