A 59-year-old Maryland man died in early May as a result of a three-vehicle pileup on Rte 152 in Fallston, MD. According to news reports, Don E. Jones, Jr. was killed along with another person during the traffic accident. At the time of the news report, authorities from county stated that the sheriff’s office was still in the process of investigating the incident. As Maryland personal injury attorneys, we know that these kinds of investigations can sometimes be long and involved, depending on the circumstances.
From the information available at the time of the news report, it appeared as if the county-owned vehicle that Jones was driving crossed the roadway centerline and hit, head-on an oncoming sport utility vehicle heading southbound in the opposite direction. According to reports, the accident occurred on a Tuesday morning and also involved a Jeep that was following the SUV that Jones’ vehicle struck. There was no mention of whether the crash was caused directly or in part by defective vehicle control systems.
Based on preliminary police reports, the work vehicle that Jones was driving crossed over into opposing traffic and hit a ‘12 GMC SUV. That vehicle was then hit by a ‘94 Jeep Wrangler, also headed on the southbound side of the roadway. Police stated that the 46-year-old operator of the GMC truck, a resident of Essex, MD, died at the scene. Jones apparently survived the initial crash, however he, too, passed away upon his arrival at the Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, located in Bel Air, Maryland.
A third victim who survived the wreck was traveling in the Jones’ vehicle — what news reports referred to a “school truck” – that individual was transported by ambulance to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. The driver of the Jeep, a Fallston relative, was taken by state police medevac chopper to the shock trauma center.
At the time of the news article, one of the drivers had already been released from the hospital, apparently having recovered sufficiently from minor injuries. The second surviving victim was still hospitalized two days after the crash.
According to news reports, that individual had severe, yet non-life-threatening injuries. The reporter wrote that the hospitalized man had received a number of broken ribs, an injury to his shoulder, as well as facial lacerations. The article also indicated that the man’s doctors were concerned about the potential of some internal bleeding, this according to the man’s attorney. Stating that the victim looked to have been in a battle, the counselor expressed his feelings in that his client and long-time friend was “lucky to be alive.”
An interesting aside to this tragic story is the alleged dangers of that stretch of road. Based on the news article we read, the safety of Rte 152 has concerned more than a few of the residents in the area, as well as relatives of the victims of this latest accident. According to that report, the cousin of one of the injured persons expressed worry that this particular area is apparently a frequent site of automobile accidents. Calling the roadway “dangerous,” a relative of one of the victims voiced concerns about the public could do to limit or eliminate similar traffic accidents in the future.
It took more than a few hours for police and clean-up crews to clear the accident and finish the crash investigation. The roadway was reopened to vehicle traffic at about half past 3pm that same day.
Services Saturday for Harford school employee killed in Fallston crash, BaltimoreSun.com, May 10, 2012