Was Ryan Didone wearing a seat belt during this tragic accident?”
DAMASCUS, Md. – Friends and family gathered at Damascus High School Tuesday night to remember a student killed in a car accident late Monday night. 15-year-old Ryan Didone was killed when the car he was in slammed into a tree on Hawkins Creamery Road. On the football field at Damascus High, there was a sea of candles. An area usually reserved for cheering and football was replaced with tears and heavy hearts. “I think it helped a lot to know that everyone cares about it. It meant a lot,” said student Megan Dutchess. Didone and four other teens, all from Damascus High, were leaving a church function when the car, driven by 17-year-old Zachary Kimble, ran off Hawkins Creamery Road and hit a tree. “It’s sad when something so tragic has to happen to someone as nice as him where you just see him yesterday and to know that something this bad could happen over night, you just don’t think about it,” said student Adriena Wiley. Didone’s father, Tom, is a captain with the Montgomery County (web|
State and national highway officials along with county police are sending a message to drivers this week: Buckle up or pay the price. As part of the Buckle Up for a Buck campaign, Montgomery County police stationed at two intersections will give $1 to the first 75 drivers seen wearing a seatbelt. Drivers not wearing a seat belt will be given information about the adult seat belt laws and child passenger safety laws, according to police. Officers were at the intersection of Georgia Avenue and Reedie Drive in Wheaton on Tuesday morning. They will be in the upcounty today. The Maryland Automobile Insurance Fund and Maryland State Highway Administration are funding this program. On Thursday, representatives of the Maryland State Highway Administration’s Safety Office, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Montgomery County Police held a press conference at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda to kick off a national campaign to increase the use of seat belts. Police officers w
