Maryland Automobile Injury News: Drug Use Suspected in Fatal 4-Vehicle Glen Bernie Co. Traffic Accident

Having seen our share of auto-accident injuries over the years, I and my colleagues understand the damage and suffering that can result from a poor driving decision or other individual choice. In the more serious of injury accidents, a car crash can cause prolonged of even permanent damage to a person’s head, neck or lower spine.

As a Maryland personal injury attorney and car accident lawyer, I know how easy it is for a simple error in judgment to lead to a potentially life-threatening outcome. Drivers and passengers in automobiles, city buses and commercial trucks have from time to time died as a result of another’s negligent behavior.

Whether a serious traffic wreck occurs in Baltimore, Annapolis, the District or anywhere else across Maryland, the results can be difficult for the victims and their families going forward. A recent incident in Glen Burnie County illustrates what can happen when a driver is possible impaired due to use of controlled substances. Illegal drugs and even doctor-prescribed prescription medication can increase the chances of a bad collision depending on the individual circumstances.

The accident in this case involved a total of four cars and ended with one driver dead and several other people injured. According to county police, alleged drug use may have contributed to a chain-reaction crash that killed 24-year-old William Edward Gruber III on a Thursday morning.

Based on police reports, Gruber was driving a 1991 Honda Accord eastbound on East Ordnance Rd just before 8am when fore some reason the man’s vehicle rear-ended a Chevrolet Monte Carlo, driven by 59-year-old Linda Darnell Bohlen Lassiter, which was waiting to make a left turn onto Blades Lane. The force of the crash pushed the Chevy into the rear of Dodge pickup truck also waiting to make a left turn.

As a result of the initial collision between Gruber’s Honda and the Chevy caused the man’s Honda to spin across into westbound lanes of the roadway, where it was hit an oncoming Dodge Caravan driven by 58-year-old Elizabeth Mund of Pasadena, MD.

Police reports showed that Gruber was pinned inside his wrecked vehicle where he died as a result of his injuries. A passenger riding in the Honda with Gruber suffered serious injuries. According to news reports, 23-year-old Donte Taylor of Baltimore was transported to Maryland Shock Trauma Center where he remained in serious condition at the time of the news article.

Lassiter, of Reisterstown, sustained multiple injuries in the crash. She was also taken to shock trauma center where she was listed in serious condition. Mund reportedly suffered only minor injuries. The driver of the Dodge, 68-year-old Kenneth Jones of Glen Burnie, MD, was not injured.

The preliminary police investigation indicated that drug use by Gruber, who also did not have a driver’s license, according to authorities, may have contributed to the four-car accident. Police told reporters that the accident was the result of driver negligence.

This incident is the second fatal car wreck to happen in that area in less than two years. After the previous deadly accident, the State Highway Administration banned left turns at two entrances into the business park, according to an SHA spokesperson.

1 killed in 4-vehicle collision, HometownGlenburnie.com, December 11, 2010

Contact Information