Friends Mourn Car Crash Victims

Flowers, teddy bears and white crosses rested along the side of Piney Orchard Parkway as friends and family mourned the loss of three young people who lost their lives in a car accident there Sunday morning. 

"It's a sickening feeling, gut-wrenching," said Shadab Huda, who attended Arundel High School with two of the victims. 

Huda stood at a makeshift memorial for David D'Augustine and Sam Schindler, who were said to be the closest of friends. When home in the Odenton area, D'Augustine and Schindler were rarely seen apart, Huda said.

D"Augustine and Schindler were 22 and graduated from Arundel High in 2008. Both served in the military—D'Augustine in the Air Force, Schindler in the Navy—and both were known as fun-loving and easy going. The profile picture on D'Augustine's Facebook page shows the two of them together, smiling and in military uniforms.

"They were the ultimate bros," friend Robert Kirk said. "Always hanging out."

Schindler's cousin, Katie Warrington, also died in the crash. A fourth victim, Michael Lee Phillips, is in critical condition at University of Maryland Medical Center. 

Friends said they have not been able to visit Phillips, but that they have heard from family members that he is stable and that doctors are optimistic he will recover. 

Members of Warrington's sorority at Radford University mourned her loss online. 

"We come together in a time of confusion, loss, and grief as we remember the life of one of our most free-spirited, fun-loving, genuine and caring sisters," the Alpha Sigma Tau sorority wrote on its Facebook page. "For those who knew her she took a piece of our hearts when she left this world."

Police are still investigating the crash, but reported that D'Augustine was behind the wheel of the 2005 Suburu sedan, and that excessive speed may have played a role. Police said D'Augustine may have failed to negotiate a curve in the road and struck a pole, followed by two trees. D'Augustine, Schindler and Warrington died at the scene. 

No one answered the door at the victims' residences in Odenton Tuesday morning. Funeral arrangements have not yet been announced.