Driver In Deadly ShopRite Crash Wants Change Of Venue: Report

BEL AIR, MD — A hearing in the case of the ShopRite truck driver charged with four counts of manslaughter and other offenses was heard in court recently in Harford County. The attorney for Carloo Everton Watson, 49, of North Brunswick, New Jersey, reportedly asked for the case to be heard in a jurisdiction outside of Harford County. It is slated to go to trial in 2020.

Police said Watson drove a tractor-trailer into traffic on MD 24 at Ring Factory Road in March, killing two.

Watson had been driving a ShopRite tractor-trailer south on Route 24 and "failed to slow down or stop and crashed into multiple vehicles" approaching the Ring Factory Road intersection, based on the investigation by Maryland State Police. The tractor-trailer came to a stop at Ring Factory Road and caught fire, as did two vehicles pinned underneath it. Police said there were a total of 12 vehicles involved and two deaths in the 7 a.m. crash on Monday, March 11.

Watson was indicted in August on two counts of negligent manslaughter by motor vehicle, two counts of criminal negligent manslaughter by motor vehicle, and four counts of using a cell phone while driving, resulting in serious injury or death. He was indicted Aug. 27 and released two days later after posting $375,000 bond, court records show.

When he appeared in Bel Air for a hearing Wednesday, Nov. 20, Watson's attorney reportedly tried to convince the judge that it would be impossible for an impartial trial to be held in Harford County because of the media coverage of the case and popularity of the victims.

The trial would "garner tremendous publicity and public sentiment," Watson's attorney Brian Thompson told the judge, The Aegis reported. Thompson said it would be "exponentially more difficult" to seat a jury of those who could be fair and impartial the longer the case remained in Harford County, a "small community" where he said the victims were both residents, one called a "philanthropic icon" and the other a "popular second grader."

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Andrew Klein, 65, philanthropist and owner of Klein's ShopRite, was pronounced deceased at the scene of the crash, where his vehicle was one of two caught under the tractor-trailer Watson was driving.

Klein was described as "bigger than life" and a "philanthropic icon" by WMAR.

Tripp Johnson, 7, a student at William Paca/Old Post Elementary known for being happy and fun-loving, died at Upper Chesapeake Medical Center.

Johnson and his mother were in one of the nine cars hit in the crash that did not catch fire, according to police.

Court records show the next motions hearing in the case is slated for Jan. 13, 2020.

Under sentencing guidelines for Maryland, Watson could face a maximum of 30 years total if convicted at trial. The negligent manslaughter charge carries a maximum penalty of 10 years incarceration with a $5,000 fine; criminally negligent manslaughter has a penalty of three years in prison with a $5,000 fine, and the cell phone usage charges come with a maximum penalty of one-year in prison with a $5,000 fine, according to the state's attorney.

Watson's trial is slated for Jan. 27, 2020.