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OP woman loses life in Rt. 50 car accident

(Nov. 13, 2014) Weather was said to have been a factor in the fatal car crash last Thursday at the intersection of Route 50 and Route 346 that claimed the life of 66-year-old Ocean Pines resident Donna Kipps Clarke.
Police said Clarke was traveling westbound on Route 346 in a 2008 Volvo C70 at approximately 8:07 a.m. when she failed to yield the right of way to Laura King, 29, of Salisbury. King was traveling east on Route 50 in a 2010 Mazda SUV.
Maryland State Police Berlin Barrack and Berlin police and EMS responded to the crash. Clarke was unresponsive on the site.
“Both vehicles were totaled,” said Md. State Police Sgt. Adam Howard. “There was front-end damage on the Mazda and driver’s side damage on the Volvo.”
EMS transported Clarke to Atlantic General Hospital where she was pronounced dead. Responders sent King to Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury and treated her for minor internal injuries in the chest, back and neck.
Howard said King was, “alert and conscious with non-life threatening injuries” on Thursday evening.
The investigation into the crash is ongoing by the Maryland State Police Reconstruction Team.
“Right now, preliminarily, Ms. Clarke failed to yield the right of way to Ms. King as she crossed Route 50,” Howard said. “Rain was definitely a factor.”
Clarke was the wife of Marty Clarke, vice-president of the Ocean Pines Association Board of Directors. OPA Marketing and Public Relations Director Teresa Travatello issued a statement on the association’s website.
“We were saddened to hear the news of the recent loss of a very dear and special person to so many people,” she said. “Our hearts are saddened by this loss and our thoughts and prayers are with the family.”
OPA President Dave Stevens said he spoke with Marty Clarke on Thursday.
“He was definitely more concerned about their children than anything else – they were devastated – and that’s typical of Marty. All of the board members are willing to do anything they can to support him, and we’re all hoping he can recover from this.
“Donna was a sweetheart,” Stevens continued. “She was such a lovely, lovely person. Marty likes to say, ‘she was by far the better half of me.’ It’s a blow to everybody, and particularly to the people that knew Donna well. I think you’ll hear a lot about her from the community, who is certainly going to miss her.”