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Route 5 crash kills woman
Van hits car trying to cross busy highway
Friday, Sept. 11, 2009
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An 85-year-old woman died Wednesday after a van struck her car as she was trying to drive across Route 5 in Waldorf, according to Maryland State Police.
At about 9:50 a.m., Helen Buchanan Owens of Temple Hills drove her 2008 Mercury Grand Marquis out of a business parking lot, failing to yield the right of way to a van traveling south on Route 5 near Ell Lane, police reported. As Owens tried to cross the highway, the 1997 Chevrolet Astro van struck the side of the Mercury, the report stated.
The driver of the van, Wayne Howard Taylor Smith, 41, of Huntingtown, suffered minor injuries and was taken by ambulance to Civista Medical Center.
Owens had been leaving the Wonder Bread store on her way to other errands when the accident happened, said her daughter, Jan Viar.
Every Wednesday morning, Owens would visit a salon to get her hair done and stop at a few stores on the way home, making sure to be back by 11 a.m. so she could make lunch for her family. Even at 85, Owens was driven, her daughter said.
"She never stopped," Viar said.
"She made me tired. I couldn't understand how she did it all."
Owens, who had five children, three stepchildren, eight grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, centered her life on family; until her death, she cared for her husband and a stepson who was injured several years ago in a car accident, Viar said.
And Owens always made sure to feed her family well. She was especially known for her scrumptious desserts, including a cheesecake that was "out of this world" and an apricot brandy cake that was "save me a piece," Viar said.
Owens also used to work at Safeway, but retired about 20 years ago, according to her daughter.
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