Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, July 16, 1990                   TAG: 9007160016
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A2   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: PEQUEA, PA.                                 LENGTH: Medium

GIRL, 13, DRIVES CAR INTO CREEK; FOUR DEAD

The 13-year-old girl, Heather Cunrod, was able to swim to shore, and her uncle, 27-year-old Donald Duncan, was pulled from the car by rescuers Saturday night.

But the other four children in the car, ranging in age from 3 to 7, had "absolutely no chance," said Chief Samuel S. Goss of the Conestoga Township police in Lancaster County.

"We did our best. We tried," said Bruce Kline, a 28-year-old steelworker who helped try to rescue the youngsters. "The car was in deep."

Cunrod was already on shore, he said, adding: "She was flipping out. I don't remember what she said, just that there's guys and kids in the car."

The victims were identified as Cunrod's 7-year-old sister, Jennifer, and 3-year-old brother, Timothy, and Duncan's 3-year-old son, Donald, and 6-year-old daughter, Jessica.

Cunrod was listed in serious condition Sunday, and Duncan was in critical condition at Lancaster General Hospital.

Goss said the girl told him Duncan had offered to let her drive.

"She was working the gas and brake pedals - and she is small in stature - and her uncle was in the passenger seat helping her steer the car with his left hand," Goss said.

She had driven at least two miles when they decided to turn into a parking area to see the ducks that often gather there, Goss said. Instead of stopping, the car lurched across the parking lot and into Pequea Creek, sinking in 12 to 15 feet of water.

"The car carried 40 feet into the water," he said. "It was doing 40, 45 mph, even faster - it just sailed like a boat."

The chief said "it's a possibility" that the girl hit the accelerator instead of the brake pedal, but that the car was going so fast that it might not have stopped in time even if she had hit the brake.

People at the nearby Pequea Boat Club managed to attach a cable to the car and winch it toward shore, but it was too late to save the small children.

Goss said the girl was able to give a coherent account of the accident Saturday night, but Sunday morning "she was in shock."

Both families were from Lancaster. Duncan is the brother of Karen Duncan, mother of the Cunrod children.

Keywords:
DROWNING