911 caller: Wrong-way driver got on I-675 on highway off-ramp

Two people were killed and two people were injured in a three-vehicle, wrong-way driver accident on I-675 South in Centerville Monday evening.

  • 2 deceased identified as Melvin Bonie, 69, and Kalip Grimm, 18
  • Police say Bonie was the wrong-way driver
  • A third victim, taken to a hospital, was reported to be alert, fourth victim suffered minor injuries
  • 911 caller said Bonie drove wrong way on southbound off-ramp from I-675 to Far Hills Avenue

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Centerville police said Tuesday that Melvin Bonie, 69, was driving the wrong way on Interstate 675 South when the crashes occurred.

A 911 caller reported seeing him going the wrong way on the southbound off-ramp from I-675 to Far Hills Avenue.

Bonie glanced off one vehicle and hit a second vehicle head on, Centerville Police Officer John Davis said.

Kalip Grimm, 18, was in the vehicle Bonie hit head-on. Grimm and Bonnie were killed in the crash, according to the Montgomery County Coroner’s Office.

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Around 9:20 p.m. Monday, the first calls about the wrong-way driver began coming into police dispatch, police said.

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The second victim was in one of the southbound vehicles, he said. A third victim taken to a hospital was alert. A fourth victim suffered minor injuries, Davis said.

Police are speaking with that fourth victim for a witness statement.

It's too early to speculate whether alcohol or drugs played a role in the accident.

A Montgomery County coroner's investigator was on scene and a Centerville Police Department traffic accident reconstruction team was on scene for most of the night.

Southbound lanes were shut down during the investigation and were reopened around 3 a.m.

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