The community at St. John the Evangelist Roman Catholic Church is struggling to cope with the sudden loss of two of its members, a mother and her son — and praying for the injured father and another son — after the Perry Hall family’s minivan was hit in a head-on crash on the way to a camping trip Nov. 7.

The Rev. William Franken, pastor of the Hydes church, called the deaths of Katherine, 31, and Wilson Brady, 8, “tragic” and said about the family, “They were just a genuine, happy, very close-knit family that was enjoying life.”

The four were traveling in their Saturn minivan during rush hour on the Bel Air Bypass, when a Jeep Cherokee crossed the median and collided with the minivan, according to state police.

Katherine and Wilson Brady were pronounced dead at the scene.

Stephen Brady, 32, was flown to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he remained in serious but stable condition Nov. 13.

Ian Brady, 2, was treated at Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and released the day after the crash.

Driver charged with vehicular manslaughter

The driver of the Jeep, Christopher Lentz, 37, of the 5600 block of Bell Gwynn Road in Glen Arm, was treated at Shock Trauma Center on Nov. 7 and released.

On Nov. 13, Lentz was arrested at his home around 5 p.m. and charged with two counts of vehicular manslaughter, according to a statement from the Maryland State Police.

Hours before the Nov. 7 crash involving the Bradys, Lentz had hit another vehicle in Joppa, according to police.

About 3:30 p.m., state police responded to a crash in which Lentz, driving a 1999 Chevrolet Express van northbound on Route 152, crossed the center line and sideswiped a southbound Ford van, state police report.

Karen Williams, 44, of Joppa, was driving the Ford van. State police said there were seven children, aged 3 to 16 in the vehicle with Williams.

Williams was not injured, but the seven children were taken to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, in Bel Air, as a precaution, the police statement said.

Lentz was not at the scene when police arrived. Police located him about a half-mile away, where his vehicle had become disabled, apparently as a result of the collision, police said.

He was charged at that scene with “failure to drive right of center, failure to immediately stop vehicle at scene of accident, failure of driver involved in accident to give insurance policy information and failure to control speed to avoid collision,” according to police.

At 5 p.m. the same day, police responded to the crash involving the Brady family on the Route 1 bypass north of Route 24 in Harford County.

Additional charges against Lentz are pending, police said. The two vehicular manslaughter charges can carry a $5,000 fine and 10 years in prison.

According to Harford County District Court documents, Lentz’s trial date has been set for 8:30 a.m. Jan. 26, at the District Court in Bel Air.

Paper quilt of memories

Wilson Brady was a third-grade student at the parish school.

“There has been a tremendous outpouring of people who want to care for Stephen and Ian,” said Franken, known as Father Willie to the 1,600 families of the parish.

The day after the collision, the parish held a prayer service for the family after the 5 p.m. Saturday Mass, Franken said.

Franken recounted that Wilson, known as “Wil,” was recently learning to play a bagpipe from a parishioner.
“Wil really seemed to take to it,” Franken said.

The school has held several activities to help youngsters cope with the death of their fellow student.
On Nov. 10, a crisis team from the Archdiocese of Baltimore was sent to the school to counsel students and staff, Franken said.

With only about 260 students, St. John the Evangelist School is a lot like a “collection of family friends,” he said.

“Most of the kids know one another. For instance, they all knew he had a younger brother, Ian. Probably they saw him when his mom came to pick up Wil,” he said.

Mounted in the third-grade classroom is a paper quilt of memories about Wilson, created by about 20 of his classmates, Franken said.
 
In the entrance of the school hangs a “prayer chain,” a collection of prayers for the Brady family as well as religious symbols made from multi-colored construction paper and created by students from preschool through eighth grade, Franken said.

A memorial fund has been set up for the family. Donations may be sent to:

Katie and Wil Brady Memorial/Scholarship Fund
P.O. Box 542
Chase, MD 21027

Friends and neighbors of the family are also planning fundraising events in the coming months.

This story has been updated.

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