Driver in Deadly Bel Air Crash Struck Twice

When we approached Christopher Lentz' Glen Arm home Monday evening no one came to the door, though we saw people inside. We have discovered the 37 year old has more than a decade worth of drug charges.

He is now accused of causing Friday's double fatal accident on the Route 1 Bypass and another crash in Fallston 2 hours earlier. “That vehicle had a mother and 7 children in the car fortunately there were no injuries," said Elena Russo with the MD State Police. But the Brady family wasn't as lucky. Their Perry Hall house, with a single light on, is now empty.

A mother and her 8 year old son are dead. Dad and his 2 year old are trying to recover. “I was surprised they didn't announce that he had been drinking or under some other substance to have made a terrible error like that,” wondered Lentz’ neighbor Robbin Allison.

Lentz was only charged with traffic violations in the first accident. However, according to court documents his record dates back to March of 1992 when he was "ordered to complete Mountain Manor," a substance abuse treatment center in Westminster.
Lentz is currently appealing a guilty verdict on a May 2008 drug charge. He's due back in court December 4th.

“The main county road, which is where this gentleman lives, is not even a full 2 lane road,” said his neighbor who wonders how a man who lives on a windy and narrow road can cause such havoc behind the wheel of a car. As of newstime, Lentz was in fair condition at Shock Trauma. No word on when he will be charged.

Earlier Story

Witnesses say 37-year old Christopher Lentz of Glen Arm swerved into the oncoming lane and hit a Perry Hall family’s minivan head on, but Maryland State Police now say this proved to be his second accident in less than two hours.

They claim the earlier accident came on Mountain Road near Greenspring Avenue in Fallston.

"Lentz was operating his company vehicle northbound on 152 when he crossed the centerline and sideswiped an oncoming vehicle,” said Elena Russo of the Maryland State Police, “and that vehicle had a mother and seven children in the car."

Troopers from the Bel Air Barrack responded to the scene on Mountain Road and soon located Lentz sitting in a disable vehicle about half a mile north of the accident scene.

Meanwhile, an Archdiocese crisis team awaited students at St. John the Evangelist School in Hydes where they mourned the death of their classmate, 8-year old Wilson Brady and his mother, Katherine, who died in the crash involving Lentz’ personal vehicle.

"This was just a wonderful family... active in the school...mother was a room parent. The son was just a lovely child. The father played bagpipes for the family each year and went into the classrooms,” said school counselor Janet Palmer, “It's just a tragedy."

A tragedy, which followed an earlier near miss that left a mother and seven children, ranging in age from three to 16 years old, shaken, but uninjured.

While charges are pending in the double-fatal crash, troopers cited Lentz with a series of driving violations following the first accident.
Copyright 2008 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Source: abc2news.com