LA PLATA, Md. - A Maryland family is heartbroken Monday night after a young man and his girlfriend were killed in what is suspected to be an illegal street racing crash.

Sources say 20-year-old Jonathan Henderson and his girlfriend Mary-Kathryn Abernathy were killed when a driver lost control of his vehicle on I-70 near the Baltimore County line early Sunday morning.

"I lived the last 20 years with my brother," said Krista Henderson, the victim's sister. "How am I supposed to wake up tomorrow and know he's not going to be there?"

"He always stuck up for me...and I love him," added Nicki Toman, the victim's sister.

Henderson, Abernathy, and friend Paul Duffy were reportedly part of a crowd on the shoulder of I-70 in Baltimore County around 3 a.m. Sunday. Police believe they were gathered to watch a street race.

"They were in the wrong place at the wrong time. He's not usually around stuff like that, he doesn't condone stuff like that," said Mary Toman, Henderson's mother.

The group was dispersing when police say 26-year-old Donneil Raeburn lost control of his 2009 Chevy Impala and collided with two cars. One of those vehicles hit the couple, killing them. Duffy was sent to the hospital while the driver was critically injured.

According to Duffy's family, Henderson's final act was to try and save his girlfriend's life. "That boy was the Incredible Hulk," said Krista Henderson. "He was invincible. He never wanted anything to happen to Mary and that sounds like him to be so selfless that when something like that happens all he's thinking about is saving Mary. He loved that girl so much."

Making the loss even more difficult to bare -- investigators suspect alcohol may be a factor in the crash, but say they do not know if Raeburn was participating in a street race.

"I have to spend the rest of my life knowing my brother lost his life because someone drank alcohol and got behind the wheel," said Krista Henderson.

Henderson was working as an electrician installing emergency generators. After doing that for a year, he planned to join his stepfather's business where he would work alongside his brother.

Maryland State police say it will be a few weeks before their investigation is complete.

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