Prince Frederick, MD – A two-vehicle collision that occurred last month in Prince Frederick and involved a Calvert County Sheriff’s Office deputy remains under investigation, a department press release stated.
The Nov. 11 crash occurred shortly before 6 p.m. at the Prince Frederick Boulevard – Allnut Court intersection. The occupants of both vehicles were injured and transported to Calvert Memorial Hospital. One of the injured—identified as Jitewdra Mehta, 65 of Prince Frederick—was subsequently flown to Washington Hospital Center.
On Friday, Dec. 19 the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office released a summary of a report submitted last week by the agency’s Crash Reconstruction Team (CRT).
According to the summary and original report, Dfc. Roscoe T. Kreps III was operating an unmarked 2014 Chevrolet Tahoe at the time of the accident. “Kreps was attempting to locate a reported vehicle operated by a possibly impaired driver,” the CRT summary stated. “Prior to the crash, the Calvert Control Center broadcast a lookout for the vehicle traveling northbound on Prince Frederick Boulevard approaching the intersection of West Dares Beach Road. Kreps was attempting to get to the intersection of Prince Frederick Boulevard and West Dares Beach Road to locate the vehicle. As Kreps approached the intersection of Allnut Court, the [2013] Toyota [Corolla] operated by Viral Dharamshibhai Patel, 30 of Prince Frederick, was in the process of making a left turn and had entered the southbound lane of Prince Frederick Boulevard. Kreps applied his brakes but was unable to avoid striking the Toyota in a T-Bone-type collision.”
According to the CRT summary, Sgt. Vladimir Bortchevsky and Cpl. James Wahlgren “worked together to examine the evidence that included roadway evidence, photographs, vehicle damage profiles, a witness statement, vehicle evidence, Bosch Crash Data Retrieval reports from Dfc. Kreps’ agency vehicle and the Toyota, and Kreps’ in-car video.”
The reconstruction team also conducted a “night time visibility study” and calculated the speeds of both vehicles, pre and post impact.
“The reconstruction investigation determined that there were two contributing factors, speed and line of sight,” the CRT summary stated. “Kreps was traveling at a high rate of speed attempting to locate the impaired driver when he approached the intersection of Allnut Court. The Toyota driver’s line of sight to Dfc. Kreps’ vehicle was approximately 320 feet to the north viewing the southbound lanes of Prince Frederick Boulevard. Thus it was impossible for the operator of the Toyota to see Dfc. Kreps’ vehicle prior to making the left turn. As with every departmental crash, the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office of Professional Standards is conducting an internal investigation of this incident.”
According to Calvert County State’s Attorney Laura Martin [R], while her office will screen the final report once the internal investigation is completed, the case will go to a special prosecutor outside of the office for any subsequent action. Martin said that was due to a potential conflict within her office.
A call to the sheriff’s office for follow-up questions on the CRT summary had not been returned as this story was being filed.
The CRT summary concluded with the affirmation that the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office “places a heavy emphasis on the safe operation of agency vehicles. While Maryland Vehicle Law Section 21-106 exempts drivers of emergency vehicles from having to obey certain laws, emergency vehicles must be driven with due regard for the safety of others at all times. We continue to conduct training on the operation of emergency vehicles and pursuit tactics. As an additional layer of risk management, supervisors are required to acknowledge and monitor all emergency response calls and adjust the deputy’s response as circumstances dictate.”
Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com