Speeding Driver in River Road Crash Sobs After Manslaughter Plea

BETHESDA, MD — A speeding Potomac driver who killed a Bethesda couple and their son in a crash on River Road near Walt Whitman High School broke down in court Monday after he pleaded guilty to manslaughter, reports say.

Three members of the De Macedo family died in a February 2016 crash at the intersection of River Road and Braeburn Parkway. The victims were Michael Buarque De Macedo, 52; his wife, Alessandra M. Buarque De Macedo, 53; and their son, Thomas Michael Buarque De Macedo, 18, a Whitman senior. Their daughter, Helena Buarque De Macedo, 15, was seriously injured in the accident.

According to police, a BMW traveling west on River Road driven by Ogulcan Atakoglu, 20, of Potomac, struck the De Macedo family’s Chevrolet Volt as it attempted to turn left onto Pyle Road. Investigators said the De Macedos thought they had time to safely make the turn, and they would have if Atakoglu hadn't been driving 30 mph over the speed limit at the time of the crash.

He was traveling at 75 mph when the accident happened, but had earlier been speeding at 115 mph on the road, Montgomery County Police said.

Atakoglu sobbed in court Monday as a judge ordered him held in jail until his Nov. 7 sentencing, WTOP reports.

He pleaded guilty to three counts of manslaughter by vehicle, according to court documents. The three counts carry a maximum 30-year prison sentence, but guidelines range from three months to 12 years.

Atakoglu’s attorney, David Felsen said the intersections of River Road and Braeburn Parkway at the crash site “has been described by others as a dangerous intersection.”

But his client has expressed remorse for the deadly accident, he said.

A meeting held in June to give feedback on the four State Highway Administration concepts aimed at improving the safety of the River Road and Braeburn Parkway intersection drew dozens of residents.
The concepts were designed to regulate the left-hand turn from River Road onto Braeburn Parkway.
The proposed plans included:

• Extending the River Rd. median to “close” the intersection.
• Installing a T-shaped island (a “Maryland T”) median strip.
• Installing a S-shaped island median strip.
• Creating a positive offset left turn lane.

Residents overwhelmingly rejected the proposed SHA’s plans at the June meeting and said a traffic signal is needed at the site, reports Montgomery Community Media.

Many of the residents said the state’s designs are too cautious, and urged authorities to install a traffic light, but SHA officials have said that traffic studies show the intersection doesn’t meet standards to install one.
A straw vote of residents recommended moving the intersection to Pyle Road and adding a traffic light.

“A traffic signal at a new intersection of Pyle Road and River would protect the existing crosswalk and the pedestrians as well as the car traffic. We could then close the Braeburn intersection and that would address the problem,” said Richard Boltuck, with the Bannockburn Civic Association.

A petition started by a Walt Whitman student calling for traffic signals at the site of the crash has garnered more than 4,200 signatures so far.

Melody Lee created a petition on Change.org two days after the fatal wreck, demanding the Maryland State Highway Administration install traffic signals at the intersection of River Road and Pyle Road.

“This has not been the first fatal collision at this intersection. For years, the Bannockburn and Whitman communities have asked the Maryland State Highway Administration to install traffic signals at this dangerous intersection,” Lee said in her petition. “Many students must cross or turn into this intersection in order to enter Walt Whitman High School's parking lots. Installing traffic signals would make the intersection safer for nearby residents, students, teachers, and drivers alike.”
»Photo of intersection from Change.org petition; photo of Ogulcan Atakoglu, courtesy of Montgomery Community Media