Sharpsburg girl, 5, dies after car crash

A 5-year-old Western Maryland girl died early yesterday of injuries she received when the car in which she was a passenger left the road and struck a telephone pole, state police in Hagerstown reported.

Police said Tony Paul Wayne Gonder, 28, was driving his 1988 Chevrolet Spectrum on Route 65 near Fairplay in Washington County at 5: 54 a.m. when he apparently fell asleep. Police said the car left the road and struck an embankment, a concrete culvert, a fence and a telephone pole.

Gonder's daughter, Toni Marie Gonder of the 6100 block of River Road in Sharpsburg, was transported to Washington County Hospital, where she died at 6: 49 a.m., police said.

Police said her father, of the 15000 block of Marsh Road in Waynesboro, Pa., was treated at the hospital.

Police said the accident is under investigation.

Pub Date: 7/27/98