Photos by
WILLIAM SAVAGE, III
Story by
ROBERT KORB, JR.

Ocean City, Md. -- Fire and EMS crews were just three blocks away clearing from an electrical hazard when they were alerted to a report of a vehicle that had driven off of a parking garage at the Howard Johnson's Hotel on 12th Street in Ocean City, Maryland.

Members from the Ocean City Volunteer Fire Company and Ocean City Emergency Services arrived within moments of the dispatch to find a Chevrolet Blazer on its roof after plummiting four stories to the ground.

"I'll never forget the sound of the metal and glass as it hit the ground for as long as I live," said one Firefighter/Paramedic who was outside when the vehicle struck the ground.

Crews worked to quickly to extricate the two 23 year old men from Fishkill, N.Y., Brian T. Donnellan and Stefan Forpin, who were trapped in the vehicle. Both occupants suffered severe head trauma when the roof collapsed on them. Donnellan, the driver, was the more serious of the two. He was transported in cardiac arrest by land to Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin where he was pronounced dead. The passenger, Forpin was transported by Maryland State Police Medevac Helicopter - Trooper 4 (Salisbury) to the regional trauma center. Shortly after lifting off the ground and en-route to Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury, they advised the hospital their patient had also gone into cardiac arrest and died after succumbing to his injuries.

Police say Donnellan lost control of the car and came crashing through the restraining cables and the parking bumpers on the fourth story of the garage. Several reports say that the driver was racing in the garage with another vehicle when the accident occurred. Ocean City Police are still investigating.

This accident comes just two days after a Philadelphia woman fell 10 stories to her death from a condominium balcony. Police said the 22 year old female was leaning over the railing when she lost her balance at around 3:30 a.m. Friday July 12th. Police are investigating the accident but believe alcohol was a factor.

On Sunday July 14th, a 4-year-old boy was flown by Maryland State Police Medevac Helicopter to PRMC after the railing of a second floor deck gave way at a home on 44th street. The boy, who fell 10 feet, was treated for head and arm injuries and was released later that night.