Maryland Bishop Investigated in Fatal Bike Crash

A Maryland bishop is reportedly under investigation in the death of a bicyclist over the weekend in north Baltimore.

Bishop Heather Elizabeth Cook, 58, was placed on administrative leave Sunday from her post “because the nature of the accident could result in criminal charges,” according to a statement from the Right Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton, Bishop of Maryland.

Police were called at 2:45 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 27, to the 5700 block of Roland Avenue after a Subaru station wagon hit 41-year-old bicyclist Thomas Palermo, who later died from his injuries at Sinai Hospital, according to WBAL.

Palermo has two children and was known in the cycling community because he built custom bike frames, according to CBS News. He lived in Baltimore County, worked as a computer specialist and was out for a recreational ride on Saturday when he was hit, according to The Washington Post.

The driver left the scene and returned approximately 20 minutes later once a group of cyclists went after the vehicle and alerted police to a Subaru with a shattered windshield, according to The Baltimore Sun, which reported a bystander who is a CBS reporter was the one who called 911 for help from the crash scene.

Cook, who was elected as the first female bishop in Maryland in May, had previous run-ins with the law due for her behavior on the road. She received probation before judgment in a 2010 drunk driving case in Caroline County, where she was found to have a blood alcohol level three times more than the legal limit, plus a marijuana pipe as well as bottles of whiskey and wine in her vehicle, Christian Today reported. She was pulled over in that instance because her tire was ”shredded” and had fallen off the rim, according to the Times Record.

At the time of the crash on Saturday, police told Palermo’s relatives the driver was texting, The Washington Post reported.

After Palermo’s death, Baltimore’s bicycle advocacy organization Bikemore issued a statement calling for Charm City to “...follow the lead of other major cities and build physically-separated bicycle infrastructure” to protect cyclists.

Baltimore authorities have not charged Cook and have not released many details, citing the “very active” nature of the investigation and the desire “not to jeopardize any potential prosecution,” Baltimore City police said in a statement to WBAL. As of Monday night, charges had not been filed.

Photo of Bishop Heather Elizabeth Cook from the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.

See Also:

• Maryland Ranked Among Top 10 Most Bikeable States in U.S.
• Bel Air Cyclist Hit by Car: ’You Have to Have Stricter Laws’
• Annapolis Woman Sentenced to 18 Months for Hitting Cyclists While Drunk
• Two Towson Bicyclists Injured in Hit and Run
• Elkridgean Cyclist—Tired of All the Grief
• Bicyclist Killed in Hit-and-Run in Prince George’s County