Judge Drops All Charges In Double Fatal ShopRite Crash: Report

BEL AIR, MD — A judge reportedly dropped all charges this week against the man who was driving a ShopRite tractor-trailer that caused a 12-vehicle crash, killing two people at a busy Bel Air intersection, in 2019.

Carloo Everton Watson, 51, of North Brunswick, New Jersey, had been charged with two counts of manslaughter and other offenses as a result of the crash that occurred March 11, 2019.

Police said Watson crashed into 11 other vehicles while driving a ShopRite tractor-trailer along MD 24 near Ring Factory Road that morning. The tractor-trailer caught fire at the intersection, as did two vehicles pinned underneath it.

The fiery crash killed Andrew Klein, 65, who owned Klein's ShopRite, and Tripp Johnson, 7, who attended William Paca/Old Post Elementary School.

Klein was pronounced dead at the scene, where his vehicle was one of two caught under the tractor-trailer Watson was driving.

Police said Johnson and his mother were among the nine cars that did not catch fire in the crash.

Following a months-long investigation, Watson was indicted in August 2019 on two counts of gross negligence manslaughter by motor vehicle, two counts of criminal negligence manslaughter by motor vehicle, and four counts of causing serious injury while using a cell phone.

Police said Watson did not slow down or stop as he approached the intersection of MD 24 and Ring Factory Road.

After all local judges recused themselves, Judge Mickey Norman heard the case this week and dropped the charges against Watson, The Aegis reported. Footage played at trial showed Watson on a Bluetooth headset at a stop before the crash, according to The Aegis, which reported Norman said the state did not meet the burden of proof to show he had broken Maryland's law prohibiting use of handheld devices while driving.

Court records show Watson entered a plea of not guilty and the judge ruled Tuesday to acquit him of all charges.

Under sentencing guidelines for Maryland, Watson could have faced a maximum of 30 years total in prison if convicted at trial. The negligent manslaughter charge carried 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.

See Also:

• Trial Scheduled For ShopRite Driver In Deadly Crash On Route 24
• Trial Postponed For Driver In Deadly ShopRite Crash
• Driver In Deadly ShopRite Crash Wants Change Of Venue: Report
• Joppa Boy, Businessman Killed In Ring Factory Road Fiery Crash
• Kind, Fun-Loving Joppa Boy Killed In Crash
• Supermarket Owner Killed In Bel Air Crash Mourned By Community
• Police Conducting Probe Into Double Fatal ShopRite Crash