Marine, Date Killed In Thanksgiving Crash

COLUMBIA, Md. -- Howard County police have released the names of the two people killed Thanksgiving night when their car was struck by a vehicle that was allegedly driven by a drunken driver.

Police said 24-year-old Jennifer Bower, of Montgomery Village, and 21-year-old Brian Matthews, of Columbia, died later at Shock Trauma in Baltimore.

"The investigation is still ongoing. Investigators will need to look at different aspects of the reconstruction. They need to look at if they can obtain a speed," said Officer Jamie Myers of the Howard County Police Department.

Matthews had served in Ramadi, Iraq, as part of the Fox Company 2nd Battalion 5th Marine Regiment.

One of his family members said he was the kind of person who would do whatever he could to help others.

Matthews, who recently trained in the Pacific Ocean, had just celebrated Thanksgiving with his family when he and Bower went out on a date.

The crash happened at the intersection of Routes 175 and 108 in Columbia.

Police said the driver of the other car, 25-year-old Eduardo Soriano, failed to stop at a traffic signal and hit Matthews' car.

Soriano wasn't injured but was charged with driving under the influence. Court documents showed he had a blood-alcohol level of .32. The legal limit is .08.

Soriano is also charged with two counts of manslaughter while intoxicated and homicide by motor vehicle.

Matthews graduated from Howard High School in 2003. He was an Eagle Scout.