Woman killed in Waldorf crash

Shopping trip turns to tragedy

Friday, Nov. 27, 2009

Police are still investigating a collision between two cars in Waldorf that killed a 78-year-old woman Monday and injured a second woman, according to the Charles County Sheriff's Office.

Betty Young Watson, of Brandywine, was driving a Cadillac north on St. Charles Parkway when her car collided with a Chevrolet Beretta traveling the same direction at about 12:20 p.m. It still isn't clear what caused the initial impact, but both drivers subsequently lost control of their cars and slid into trees bordering the road, police reported.

Watson was driven by ambulance to Civista Medical Center in La Plata and pronounced dead.

The driver of the Chevrolet, a 33-year-old woman from Washington, D.C., was also taken to an area hospital, where she was treated for injuries that weren't life-threatening, according to police.

Watson, a mother of four, was a fun woman with a good sense of humor, according to her daughter, Patty Dolesh.

"The thing helping us to get through this time is that she didn't have to suffer long and that she was in such a good place in her life," said Dolesh earlier this week.

Watson and her husband, high school sweethearts, had recently returned from a cruise celebrating their 59th wedding anniversary. Because she'd been away, Watson was catching up on her Christmas and Thanksgiving errands on Monday, and she was heading home from shopping when the accident happened, Dolesh said.

Watson had a dry wit and a great laugh, said her daughter. She loved to read and play Scrabble and had many friends.

Dolesh's husband, Richard, said he remembers Watson as a "vivacious and cultured" woman and gracious hostess.

"Manners were required at Betty's table, never in an overbearing way, but just as a matter of course," said Dolesh. "It didn't matter if you were coming from the fields or coming from hunting, manners were the norm."

Part of a family with deep roots in Southern Maryland, Watson lived for much of her life on a tobacco farm in Brandywine, said Richard Dolesh. She was so involved in the community that neighborhood children grew up calling her "Aunt Betty."

"We loved our mother very much, and we're going to miss her very much," said Patty Dolesh.

Cpl. D. Belfield is investigating the accident.

brodgers@somdnews.com