The man under investigation in a crash that killed a mother and her son last week in Harford County had been involved in another collision less than two hours earlier, police said yesterday.
In the earlier crash, 37-year-old Christopher H. Lentz allegedly drove across the center line of a highway in Joppa in his work van and sideswiped another van occupied by a woman and seven children. He apparently drove on, but his vehicle became disabled a half-mile away and he was issued several traffic citations.
Lentz - who according to court records has a history of drug convictions and driving violations - was behind the wheel of another vehicle, his Jeep Cherokee, about 90 minutes later Friday afternoon when the sport utility vehicle swerved into oncoming traffic on the Bel Air bypass, police said, and the Jeep hit a minivan head-on.
Inside that vehicle was a Baltimore County family. Relatives said yesterday that the family was headed on a camping trip.
"It's a tragedy I will carry for the rest of my life," Michael Loftus, whose daughter Katherine S. Brady was killed, said in a phone interview. "I can't wait for my life to get to that point so I can see her again. Daddy's little girl is daddy's little girl for life."
Police have said they plan to charge Lentz in the fatal crash, adding that they would consult with Harford County prosecutors before filing charges.
Brady, 31, who was in the front passenger seat of the minivan, died in the crash. Also killed was her son, Wilson Brady, 8, a third-grader at St. John the Evangelist School in the Hydes area. The family attended St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church.
The other child in the back seat of the minivan, 2-year-old Ian Brady, was treated at Johns Hopkins Children's Center and released. The children's father, Stephen M. Brady, 32, had been driving.
Loftus said the close-knit family was traveling to a weekend Cub Scout retreat, an outing typical for them. He said his middle daughter spent hours every week bike riding, camping and watching Ravens games with her sons and husband.
Joe Loftus, grandfather of the woman killed in the accident, said the Bradys were a "beautiful family," adding, "They did everything together."
Stephen and Katherine Brady married in 2001 and lived in the house where she grew up, purchasing it from her mother years ago.
