911 caller recalls moments before 2 killed in wrong-way crash

A 911 caller can’t stop thinking about what he could have done to possibly stop a wrong-way driver from causing a crash that killed two people Monday night.

“I knew at that point there was going to be a major collision,” said Richard Newland, who described the moments after he saw Melvin Bonie, 69, turn the wrong way onto the ramp from south Interstate 675 to Far Hills Avenue.  “I probably should have pulled in front of him to stop him from going down the ramp.”

Newland was waiting at a red light at the same ramp, when Bonie passed his vehicle at a relatively slow speed, he said.

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Bonie ultimately drove the wrong way down the highway, colliding with another vehicle, killing both Bonie and 19-year-old Kalip Grimm, police said.

Police have not yet determined why Bonie entered the highway driving the wrong direction. However, Newland said from his perspective it seemed he entered the highway intentionally.

“No mistaking that it was deliberate,” Newland said.  “It wasn’t like he was lost.”

Newland said Bonie came within two feet of striking his vehicle.

A final autopsy from the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office should reveal additional information into how and why Bonie may have died.

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