Family and friends are mourning the loss of two teenagers who died when the van they were riding in crashed into a tree. The accident happened around 11:30 Saturday night in Finksburg..
15-year-olds Emily Burke and Alison HHird have been best friends since they were five. They were together Saturday night. Alison saw Emily take her last breath.
"She told her she loved her and she said wake up," said Paul Burke, the victim’s father.
A night out with friends ended on a lawn in Finksburg . 17-year-old Paul Burke was behind the wheel. He survived, but his front seat passenger, 14-year-old Rudolfo Calderon of Finksburg, died at the scene with Emily Burke. The Burke's parents rushed home from New Jersey to be with friends and family.
"And I asked them, do you have any bad memories of Emily? And they said, no. And I said, that's what you have to remember," Burke said.
Maryland State Police say Paul Burke was driving northbound on Louisville Road, when the van crossed the center line and hit a tree.
"Speed and possibly the driver falling asleep may have caused this crash," said MSP Spokesman Greg Shipley.
Police say there's no indication of alcohol or drug use. Investigators don't know yet if Calderon was wearing his seat belt, but all of the other passengers were belted in.
"Everyone did the right things as quickly as they could, but that wasn't the plan that God made last night," he said.
Paul Burke and Alison Hird were flown to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center. Burke was released Sunday afternoon. Hird is being treated for serious, but non-life threatening injuries.
