Wife of Radio Personality Killed in Accident in Ocean City (AP – WTOP Radio)
Freda Wright-Sorce, the wife of radio personality Don Geronimo and a frequent contributor to the popular nationally syndicated “Don and Mike” show, died in a traffic accident Sunday. Wright-Sorce, 50, often called in to the comedy show on Washington radio station WJFK known for its outlandish humor and pranks, said Michael Hughes, the station’s general manager.
State police said her vehicle was struck head-on Sunday afternoon by a vehicle that crossed the median on Route 90 in an attempt to avoid a pile-up. She died later Sunday at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, hospital spokeswoman Cindy Rivers said. The pile-up temporarily closed westbound Route 90, state police said.
Hughes said Geronimo was spending time with their son on Monday. The remaining members of the show announce the death on the show Monday afternoon.
Co-host Mike O’Meara told listeners that Wright-Sorce was the “conscience of this show.” “It would always be Freda who would be the great arbiter of what would be done on the show,” O’Meara said. “If we were going down a road where we would be going too far, she would call in and say ‘what are you doing?”‘
My sympathies go out to Geronomo and family. The “Don and Mike Show” is, frankly, not my cup of tea but they are a Washington area institution, having been on the radio here for decades. The Fiance’ has been a longtime listener.
Update (7-12): More from today’s Washington Examiner
Radio personality’s wife killed in accident — Spouse of Don Geronimo dies in head-on collision
Freda Wright-Sorce, wife of popular radio personality Don Geronimo of the “Don and Mike” show, which is broadcast from Fairfax, was killed Sunday in a traffic accident near Ocean City.
Wright-Sorce, 50, of Great Falls, was driving on Route 90 at 2 p.m. in Berlin, Md., when her vehicle was struck head-on by another vehicle that crossed a median to avoid a pile-up, according to a Maryland State Police spokesman. Wright-Sorce was flown to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where she died, police said.
Wright-Sorce was a frequent contributor to her husband’s nationally syndicated show, calling in and discussing humorous aspects of their home life on the air. The show – which has about 123,000 listeners in the Washington region – was on the air Monday despite the news. But Geronimo, whose real name is Mike Sorce, did not appear.
“It was Don’s suggestion that they go on the air,” said Michael Hughes, the general manager of WJFK, the Washington radio station that carries the late-afternoon show.
The show is comedic and often features raunchy material. But the mood was solemn on the air Monday, featuring tributes to Wright-Sorce.
