Maryland State Police are seeking the driver in a fatal car accident, whom police said struck a man and continued on.
Police said the driver had to be aware that a man was hit on Interstate 97 because the investigation has shown that the body flew onto the hood of the missing driver’s vehicle and traveled 200 feet from the scene of the crash. The vehicle also would have suffered substantial damage to the hood and the windshield. Police found its missing windshield wiper at the accident site.
The accident occurred around 3:15 a.m., just after the 50-year-old man who was hit and a traveling companion were involved in an accident of their own on northbound I-97 between Benfield Boulevard and Route 32. The 31-year-old driver was operating a 2009 Isuzu street sweeper with his passenger aboard when he turned the wheel to left sharply for an unknown reason.
The street sweeper entered the median of the highway before hitting a concrete guardrail, according to police. The force of the accident ejected both men.
The driver sustained critical injuries but the passenger was able to get to his feet. He could not get off the road before being hit by the oncoming car.
The pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene, while the driver of the street sweeper was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore with injuries described as life-threatening. A hospital official said his condition was critical.
This was a tragic accident that will require follow-up investigation. The family of the man who died will need to monitor the unfolding investigation to determine whom police place at fault for the man’s death. The family could find that filing a wrongful death suit is appropriate, and there could be multiple defendants. The driver of the street sweeper, as well as the second driver who fled, both could be appropriate targets for such a suit.
