. >> the woman who died in the crash is identified as helena smith. prince georges county police tell us she has a history of traffic citations. coming up tonight at 5:00, darcie spencer has exclusive new details about the moments leading up to the crash from eyewitnesss and friends of the victim. >> opening statements began today in the trial of five men accused in one of the deadliest shootings in d.c. history. four people were killed in a drive by shooting in mafr 2010. five others were with wounded in that same shooting. six others were hurt in a series of related attacks. all five of the defendants face a life sentence without parole if they're convicted. news 4's pat collins was at the hearing and will have the latest on this story in a live report coming up at 5:00. >>> same sex marriage is one step closer to being legal in the state of maryland. the senate judicial proceedings committee approved the measure by a vote of 7-4. the bill that would allow same sex couples to marry is on its way to the full senate. the maryland senate is expected to

police say helena smith was going close to 100 miles an hour moments before her car left the road. fox 5's will thomas has more. >> reporter: as bad as the accident was, there are a lot of folks who believe it could have been worse. that car came careening through this gas station parking lot at a very high rate of speed. it actually hit a parked car in front of the seed pleasanpeople actually saw it happen, believed had it not hit that suv that was parked here, it may have gone flying through the plate glass window of the kfc taking down customers. it was packed in there at dinner time monday. about 6:30 monday night police say a bmw driven by 29-year-old helena smith hits the curb along mlk boulevard in seed pleasant, went airborne, then cartwheeled about 100 yards before smashing into this red suv parked right in front of the kfc. investigators have no doubt speed was a factor. fox 5 has learned maryland state police ticketed smith january 22nd on the beltway and she received five citations including exceeding 91 miles per hour in a 55 zone, driving on a suspended license and no

police say helena smith was going close to 100 miles an hour moments before her car left the road. that was just a month after she was ticketed for doing 91 on the beltway. fox 5's will thomas live at the scene of the crash with more now. >> reporter: good evening. just 24 hours ago when we were first bringing you the images of the scene we were across the street and what you could see from the footage even sky fox is that blackburned out smashed up bmw here on its side, another smashed up car right beside it. the car came careening through here right through the gas station parking lot ending up here. what some people said who actually the witnessed this, had that bmw not hit the parked car in front of the kfc, they believe that car would have flown right through the plate glass windows taking down customers. we're told it was packed because it was dinner time yesterday. >> this was again at a family function. >> reporter: remembering her niece at the very spot she lost her life monday evening. 29-year-old helena smith was behind the wheel of her bmw when she lost control. police

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. >> that's my baby -- >> reporter: relatives are distraught over the loss of 29-year-old helena smith. she was the woman who lost control of her bmw on mlk highway, went airborne and slammed into a kfc restaurant last night in landover. >> i just don't know. >> reporter: excessive be speed was a factor in the crash. and according to online court records, smith was ticketed for driving 91 miles per hour on the beltway, driving on a suspended license and expired registration. >> she's going through so much stuff. she don't have nowhere to go, she lost her job, you 2340e what while say something she was just upset. >> reporter: police say smith was killed, her passenger jushed. the car hit another vehicle before striking the building. that driver was with also hurt. fortunately, no one inside the restaurant was injured. >> one car was parked out front the kfc. if that can't wasn't right there, maybe that car goes into the restaurant. >> i was like, wow! what was that. >> reporter: curtis robinson was sitting here in the kbooj at the citgo station next to the kfc when he saw the bmw fly b

investigators estimate that 29-year-old helena smith reached a speed of 100 miles per hour before she lost control and crashed her vehicle in front of the kfc. she died on the scene. we searched online counter records and found smith was ticketed last month for driving 91 miles per hour in a 55-hour zone. she was also ticketed for driving with a suspended license and driving with expired registration. >>> the new era begins today in frederick county, maryland. english is now that county's official language. county commissioners passed the ordinance last night after a public hearing. an official -- all official county actions must be in english only. there are a few exceptions, though. for instance, public health and safety information. frederick is the first maryland county to make english its official language. >>> from an official tlielanguao a ban on salty lane. the d.c. council -- language. the d.c. council banned cursing. it passed a week after david catania used the "f" word during an argument with fellow council member marion barry. >>> today marks six months since the magnitud

police say el helena smith was going close to 100 miles per hour when she crashed into an suv. bowen was in his car when the collision occurred. fox 5 sat down with him and his wife. what are they saying about all this? >> they have been married for 38 years. they say they are just glad to still be together. everett is a retired electrical engineer that once worked in the building communication system. he and his wife, pamela, are hand radio operators in their spare time. nothing could have prepared them for what happened monday night. >> everett said he hadn't been in that kfc? 10 or 15 years. now looking back, he is just glad to be alive. >> i keep saying he has an angel on his dash board. >> their husband says he just left the restaurant with his chicken, got into his car and putting on a seat belt. >> i was waiting to put the key in the ignition. when you have a wash machine that is not balanced properly. that's what it sounded like. it was so loud. >> it was a chaotic scene. he saw the crushed bmw. >> i had just put $35 worth of gas in my truck. my tank was full. i was afr

tonight, police identified the 29-year-old woman behind the wheel as helena smith. she was killed in the crash. the records show a month ago she was cited for going 91 miles an hour in a 55 miles an hour zone on the beltway. last night, her car jumped the curb and started flipping over before it hit kfc on martin luther king boulevard. four other people are recovering from minor injuries. >>> we're following a news alert out of afghanistan right now. outrage and protest have broken out outside of the main u.s. military base. they come after reports that muslim books, including the coran, were being burned at the base there. there might be more reason as to why the holy books were being discarded in the first place. jennifer griffin has the story. >> reporter: not a justification, but an explanation. a senior u.s. official confirms to fox that the muslim holy books burned in a pile of garbage at bagram military base, were removed from the library at the adjoining detention center because they contained extremist messages or inscriptions. the official explaining, quot

. >> relatives are distraught over the loss of helena smith. she was the woman who lost control of her bmw on mlk highway, went airborne and slammed into a kfc restaurant last night in landover. >> i just don't knee. i wish she had been home or with me. >> excusive speed was a factor in the crash. and according to online court records, smith was ticketed a month ago for driving 91 miles per hour on the beltway. driving on a suspended license and driving on an expired registration. >> i can't pinpoint why would it happen, why did it happen? i can't pinpoint. she's not that type of person. >> reporter: smith was killed her passenger injured. the car hit another vehicle before striking the building, that driver was also hurt. fortunately, no one inside the restaurant was injured. >> she was loved by everyone. >> reporter: charlene middleton says smith used to stay with her in southeast washington at one point but hadn't seen her in about a month. >> tell us about your friendship or how you knew her? >> we had been friends for like 15 years. she wa

helena smith reached a speed of 100 miles per hour before losing control and crashed her vehicle in frontkfc. she died on the scene. we searched online court records and found smith was ticketed last month for driving 91 in a 55 mile-per-hour zone. she was also ticketed for driving with a suspended license and driving with expired registration. >>> virginia governor bob mcdonnell may not support a controversial abortion bill being debated in virginia's general assembly right now. the governor is not committing to signing the legislation which would require women to have an ultrasound before getting an abortion. if that legislation reaches his desk, he says. the pro-life governor is reportedly having second thoughts about the bill after learning that the ultrasounds may be more invasive than first thought. >>> if you are hoping to catch a new flight from bwi marshall to cuba next month, you'll have to wait a little longer. weekly flights from baltimore to havana were scheduled to start on march 21, just days before pope benedict xvi planned to visit the island nation. the travel agency tha

the woman who was driving the car has been identified as 29- year-old helena louise smith of washington. these witnesses gave compelling accounts. i need to show you around. there is sheriff road and over here is martin luther king highway. this is a citgo parking lot where i'm standing and it's right by a car wash where some employees were standing just a few feet away from where i am last night when this all happened. the black 1993 bmw hit the kfc restaurant after being out of control for 200 yards. witnesses at the car wash next door still in disbelief. >> i have seen this car flying down the highway. >> i saw the car coming, i didn't know it was a car. >> i mean, he was going 100, 110. >> seemed like a tornado coming. >> he was flipping, flipping, flipping. >> the girl that was inside the car came out. the car flipped one more time and landed on her. >> 49-year-old hellena louise smith was the driver, according to police. a male pass passenger and a customer are hurt. smith's cousins are in shock. >> i have no idea why she went that fast. >> while the smith family grieves, others w

investigators estimate the 29-year-old helena smith reached a speed of 100 miles per hour before she lost control. her bmw went airborne, flipped, and upon crashed in front of the kfc. she died on the scene. we searched online court records and found that she was ticketed just last month for driving 91 in a 55 mile-per-hour zone. she was also ticketed for driving with a suspended license and with driving with an expired registration. >>> a new era begins today in frederick county, maryland. english is now the county's official language. county commissioners passed an ordinance last night after a public hearing. all official county actions must now be in english only. there are a few exceptions including public health and safety information. frederick is the first maryland county to make english its official language. >>> today maryland will roll the dice on efforts to expand gambling in the state. the senate budget and taxation committee meets this afternoon to talk about a bill that could bring a new casino to prince george's county. county executives will testify in support of the

police have identified the driver as 29-year-old helena louise smith of washington d.c. the car left the roadway and it went through a gas station lot on monday night. it flipped over numerous times before hitting the restaurant. investigators are looking into reports that smith might have been going as fast as 100 miles per hour. smith's passenger and a man in another vehicle were injured. state police cited smith for speeding after she was stopped going 91 miles per hour on the beltway. >>> an american war correspondent was killed in syria when government forces shelled rebel fighters. tina krauss has more on exactly how it happened. reporter: syrian forces reportedly shelled a house and the rebel stronghold of homs, killing an american reporter. 57-year-old marie cullvin was a veteran correspondent for a british newspaper. the new york native lost an eye, covering another war more than a decade ago. >> this is a desperately sad reminder of the risks that journalists take to inform the world of what is happening and the dreadful events in syria. reporter: just a kay be

investigators estimate the 29-year-old helena smith reached a speed of 100 miles per hour before shecrashed her vehicle in front of the kfc restaurant. she died on the scene. we searched online court records and found smith was ticketed last month for driving 91 in a 55-mile-an-hour speed zone. she was ticketed for driving with a suspended license and driving with an expired registration. fairfax county officials are investigating abuse allegations at the reston zoo. the allegations focus on the death of a wallabee which looks like a kangaroo. the zoo's director claims she euthanized the sick animal with an iv injection of a drug and investigators claim the zoo doesn't legally have permits or training to administer that drug. >> they have to have a vet on staff. if they don't, documented the euthanasia, it wasn't done. >> no charges have been filed at this point. news4 tried to contact the zoo director. those attempts have been unsuccessful. >> we are going to check again on our weather now with springlike temperatures coming. tom kierein with us. hey, tom. >> yeah, we are already wa

the bmw's driver, helena smith, died. enger, like everett, has non-life threatening injuries. police say smith was driving way too fast. everett knows that if she had lost control just moments earlier he'd be dead along with her. if i would've been just starting to get into the car, the car would have crushed me. everett says in a backed out of his parking spot yet. if my car wasn't there, i mean that car would have lives probably would've been taken.pamela says it's a miracle everett's life wasn't taken. glad that he's still here with us. poming up... they're the words that left her speechless. speechless.i can't believe i'm about to...you're going to cut me off? off?what singer adele resorted to... after being cut off... mid-speech.and what she's saying about it all... today. ((joel live tease)) tease)) you're watching fox 44 morning news...all local.. ox 45 morning news.. all local.. all morning. ((break 4)) ?cc the silent killer. the illness that kills more people than aids.. on fox 45 news at 5:30.3 -harbor p3 3 &p 69

she's 29-year-old helena luis smith. witnesses couldn't believe what they were seeing. >> i'd seen this car flying down the highway. >> the car coming all the way across so fast, i didn't even know it was a car. >> he was going maybe a hundred, 110. >> like a tornado. >> he was flipping, flipping, flipping, flipping. >> the girl that was inside the car came out. the car flipped one more time and landed on her. >> smith's passenger and a man in another vehicle were injured. less than a month ago state police allegedly clocked smith going 91 miles an hour on the inner loop near central avenue. at that time she was charged with driving on a suspended license. >>> 23-year-old ross thudberg of baltimore is charged with first degree assault after road rage. he allegedly stabbed another driver while both vehicles sat at an intersection. the other driver gave chase and both vehicles ended up in a ditch on route 3. >>> the maryland senate is expected to approve same-sex marriage legislation this week. the bill made it out of the