Charges reduced for Baltimore County man accused of hit-and-run in Amazon van

A Baltimore man accused of running over a woman during a hit-and-run in an Amazon van has been released on bail and is facing reduced charges, according to court records.

The alleged hit-and-run was captured on camera on Feb. 18. Police said a woman was crossing the street in Baltimore's Butchers Hill neighborhood around 9:30 p.m. when she was run over by the van. 

The driver, 26-year-old Jerome Allan Young Jr. of Baltimore County, turned himself in days after the incident. 

Hit-and-run captured on camera

WJZ obtained a video showing the moment the Amazon van ran over the woman in an intersection. 

According to a police report, the woman was in the crosswalk at the time she was hit. She told the responding officer she felt the van run over her head and body. 

The video shows Young hesitating in the van as the woman cries out. He continued to drive over the woman with the rear wheels of the van before getting out. 

According to the police report, the woman said Young approached her and asked, "How did you manage to get hit," before getting back in the van and leaving. 

The woman was taken to a hospital where she is expected to survive. According to a police report, she had nine broken ribs and five fractured vertebrae. 

Amazon driver charged

On Friday, Feb. 21, police said Young was charged with negligent and reckless driving along with other charges. He was ordered to be held without bail. 

According to the Baltimore Banner, Young was also charged with assault, reckless endangerment and failure to stop at the scene of an accident involving injury. 

However, on Monday, court records showed Young was only charged with several traffic citations and was released on bail.

Baltimore City State's Attorney Ivan Bates said Young was overcharged. 

"Prosecutors have a duty to bring charges that are supported by evidence. In this case, the District Court Commissioner overcharged the defendant, which would not have resulted in true justice in the courtroom," State's Attorney Bates said. "This incident highlights the importance of Delegate Addison's bill in Annapolis, which I support; this legislation would ensure that Assistant State's Attorneys with expertise and training review any applications for charges and prevent court commissioners from issuing warrants without actual evidence. To hold this defendant accountable for his actions, our office has dropped the charges not supported by the evidence, and we will reissue them with the correct counts and charges."   

Young is scheduled to appear for a hearing on March 20. With the current charges, he could face a maximum of two years in prison along with financial penalties.

Amazon, neighbors responds

After Young's arrest, Amazon said he is no longer delivering to customers. 

"This is a terrible incident and we're fully supporting law enforcement as they continue their investigation," an Amazon spokesperson said. "The individual in question is no longer delivering to Amazon customers."

Some neighbors told WJZ that the intersection where the incident took place can be dangerous for pedestrians. 

"People are always blowing through lights," said neighbor Aidan Shawyer. "I don't know if that's what happened in this situation, but even if it's last tick of the yellow, people are just going 40 down these roads."

"I think the guy just panicked and didn't know what he was doing," another Baltimore resident said. "I would think Amazon would do training on this. If you hit someone, don't leave the scene."

Multiple online donations have been launched to support the woman who was injured.