Former Mass. resident killed in Maryland crash involving speeding cars

A 33-year-old mother of four and former Easthampton resident was killed last week in Maryland after speeding cars caused a “chain reaction” of crashes, officials said.

A Florida native, Jaleisa Wilcox moved to Western Massachusetts after graduating high school to reconnect with family, according to her obituary. She owned and operated Quality Cleaners LLC, a cleaning service.

Wilcox was pronounced dead at the scene of a May 31 collision on Three Notch Road in Mechanicsville, Maryland, the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies responded to the crash around 1:44 p.m. and found Wilcox’s car and another vehicle overturned.

Witnesses reported that speeding cars caused a “chain reaction of collisions,” the sheriff’s office said. Wilcox was not in one of the speeding cars. 

Officials said a 2020 Corvette hit the rear driver side of a 2000 Toyota 4Runner, then Wilcox’s 2008 Toyota Camry. The Corvette and Camry rolled over, while the 4Runner crossed into northbound lanes. The Corvette driver was taken to a hospital due to his injuries. 

“The privilege to drive doesn’t supersede another’s right to drive on our roadways without fear of being seriously injured or worse,” St. Mary’s County Sheriff Steve Hall said in a statement following the crash. “These are roadways; they are not raceways.”

He added: “This selfishness has got to stop. Our actions, especially as drivers on our roadways, impacts others. This flagrant disregard for the safety of fellow travelers is disgusting.”

The sheriff’s office is seeking information on a dark gray or black striped Ford Mustang that may have been nearby before the crash. Hall also announced that his office will intensify traffic enforcement efforts targeting reckless, aggressive, distracted, and impaired drivers. 

“We offer our sincere condolences to the family and friends of Jaleisa Wilcox and to all affected by the tragic crash,” he said. “We ask that you remember the victim and those impacted every time you start your car.”

Meanwhile, Wilcox’s family and friends are remembering her as a “source of positivity” who spent her time helping others and visiting the beach or going camping with her family, per her obituary. 

“Jaleisa’s family and friends will miss her more than words can ever describe,” the obituary reads.

Wilcox leaves behind her fiancé, Edward Gardner, and their four children, according to a GoFundMe page raising money for her family and end of life services. 

“We were suppose[d] to have our rocking chairs on the front porch and grow old,” Gardner wrote in a public Facebook post mourning Wilcox.