Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Releases Statement On Incident Involving Crossing Guard, Says There's Insufficient Evidence To Pursue Hit & Run Charge
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (WJZ) -- The Anne Arundel County State's Attorney released a statement in regards to the incident involving a crossing guard in Glen Burnie.
Read the full statement below:
"After a thorough review of the video and multiple body worn camera footage from the scene, there is evidence that there may have been contact between the vehicle and crossing guard. Not only did the crossing guard react to it, but the officer at the scene observed it and heard the guard say that the driver had made contact with her. However, the video of the intersection helped us determine that the contact appears to be the result of the driver straightening his wheel and starting to reverse to back out of the crosswalk rather than the result of either a reckless or intentional act on his part. The driver had originally pulled into the crosswalk to move out of the way of a vehicle turning down the street where he was stopped waiting for traffic to clear. There is no indication that he failed to obey a traffic control device.
Shortly after the apparent contact between the crossing guard and the driver, the officer witnessed them arguing about what had happened, and saw that the driver of the vehicle was angry and argumentative, which gave further indication that there had been unlawful physical contact.
Because there is ultimately no evidence that the driver was told to pull over or that he was otherwise put on notice that the crossing guard had suffered any bodily injury, there is insufficient evidence to prosecute any "hit and run" charge.
The officer presented the factual recitation that the vehicle struck the crossing guard to the district court commissioner who then determined what charges should be issued. Because the contact did not rise to the level of a criminal offense as an intentional or reckless act and there was no actual notice to the driver of any injuries at the time that legally required him to remain at the scene, the Office of the State's Attorney has decided to enter all the charges Nolle Prosequi."