Intoxicated Driver Gets 20 Years After Death Of Married Couple

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — An Anne Arundel County man was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Wednesday after pleading guilty to the negligent vehicular manslaughter of a married couple in 2019. The defendant, Brandon Michael Wyrobek, entered his guilty plea on Tuesday, exactly one year after the accident.

The prosecution alleges that Wyrobek, 30, had drugs in his system at the time of the crash. The judge, William Mulford called the Curtis Bay man a menace to society who shows no remorse.

The state's attorney says the victims, 73-year-old Frances Manis and 80-year-old Richard Manis, were on their way to an engagement party on Sept. 14, 2019 when Wyrobek struck their 2018 Mazda 3 from behind. They were parked in the shoulder on the southbound side of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway near its junction with Interstate 195. The victims' had their hazard lights on.

Wyrobek drove a blue Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. That day, the local 911 call center received multiple complaints about a blue truck driving erratically with a driver whose eyes appeared to be closed.

The accused man was lethargic and disoriented when medics arrived, according to a state's attorney report. Wyrobek told them that he saw "oompa-loompa's." He said that he had not consumed any illegal drugs, but he admitted to drinking one beer.

Wyrobek fell asleep multiple times while speaking to a responding Maryland State Police officer. His speech was slurred, and his movements were slow.

Paramedics took Wyrobek to the University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, where he consented to a toxicology test. The defendant tested positive for fentanyl, benzodiazepine and opiates.

Police arrested Wyrobek after he left the hospital. He faced an assortment of 10 charges relating to homicide, manslaughter and driving while intoxicated. Prosecutors dropped all of the charges except the two counts of negligent vehicular manslaughter.

Frances Manis was declared dead at the scene. The Anne Arundel County Fire Department took Richard Manis to the shock trauma center. He died from his injuries five weeks later, prosecutors say.

"Wyrobek destroyed the lives of the Manis' family when he decided to get behind the wheel of a vehicle while high on illegal drugs," Anne Arundel County State's Attorney Anne Colt Leitess said in a press release. "The victims' three daughters and grandchildren were robbed of a future because of Wyrobeck's criminal actions. I hope the family continues to receive the necessary support and resources they need to heal from this unbearable tragedy."

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