Van driver fatally strikes boy in Anne Arundel Co.

The light bar of a D.C. police cruiser flashes at a crime scene in this January 2015 file photo. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

WASHINGTON — A 12-year-old boy was fatally hurt in Anne Arundel County after a work van drove onto the sidewalk and struck him.

It happened on Andrew Hill Road and Bay Green Drive in Arnold, Maryland, just before 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.

The boy was walking on the sidewalk with his mother and brother when a van traveling westbound on Bay Green Drive veered off the road at the intersection hitting the boy. The van continued onto a grassy area and struck a tree.

The boy was flown to the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center, where he died from his injuries, a news release said.

The driver of the van is identified as 37-year-old Michael Blair Gauthier, of Arnold, Maryland. He was taken to Anne Arundel Medical Center with minor injuries.

Preliminary investigation of the crash shows what appears to be reckless driving and failing to remain in a single lane. Gauthier was arrested on charges of manslaughter and possession of a controlled dangerous substance. There may be additional charges after the results of his toxicology test.

Below is the area where it happened.

 

Abigail Constantino

Abigail Constantino started her journalism career writing for a local newspaper in Fairfax County, Virginia. She is a graduate of American University and The George Washington University.

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