Police: Drunk driver speeding 101 mph charged in good Samaritan's death on I-395
BALTIMORE -- A driver who was drunk by more than three times the legal limit and traveling more than 100 miles an hour struck and killed a good Samaritan in Baltimore City last August, according to new charging documents WJZ obtained.
Robert Horne Jr., 50, from western Maryland, was stopped on an elevated portion of I-395 to assist a disabled motorist at the time of the crash.
Latrell Shakur Sanders, 28, from Windsor Mill, was speeding at 101 mph in his Mercedes SUV — almost double the posted speed limit— when he struck a vehicle and then hit Horne at 67 mph, sending Horne plunging over the jersey wall more than 100 feet into the water below.
Police said there was no sign Sanders used his brakes.
Rescue crews, including members of the swift water dive team, were eventually able to locate Horne's body.
Sanders is facing multiple charges, including driving under the influence of alcohol and manslaughter by vehicle.
WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren broke the news of the charges to the victim's family members.
Horne's sister and cousin told WJZ they are processing the new information.
Devonaline Horne, the victim's sister, told Hellgren her brother was a good person and always tried to assist others in need.
"He did not know how not to stop and help somebody," she said on Thursday. "It ended up costing him his life."
Police obtained the speed information from the airbag control module in Sanders' Mercedes and said he ignored multiple warning lights at the scene.
"There was a choice to get behind the wheel while impaired. There was a choice to drive at that incredibly dangerous speed," said Sgt. Brady McCormick, with Maryland Transportation Authority Police. "These are absolutely preventable crashes."
A search of court records showed Horne had a prior impaired driving charge in 2017 on I-395 and received probation before judgment.
Records show a plea of not guilty and probation for an impaired driving charge on the Beltway in Catonsville, Baltimore County, in 2019.
They also show he was charged with traveling 90 mph in a 55 mph zone on I-95 in 2020 and was given supervised probation for driving on a suspended license on I-95.
In the deadly August 13 crash in Baltimore City, police wrote in charging documents, "[Sanders] medical records showed that he had 251mg/dL of ethanol in his system. This equates to a 0.25BAC which is over 3 times the legal limit. Also, the medics on scene stated he was found on the ground outside of vehicle alert and oriented intermittently, given patient is intoxicated. That same statement was then corroborated by the medics at the hospital."
Police noted they served a warrant on Sanders in the case Wednesday at the Jennifer Road Detention Center in Anne Arundel County.
Horne was a security guard at the Baltimore Convention Center. His sister shared a picture of his casket draped with the Baltimore City flag for his service to the community.
His former co-worker, Earl Brown, told WJZ in August, "That's normally Horne to always stop and pull over. I don't care where he at, he's always trying to help somebody."
