WASHINGTON — Two weeks after he crashed a county-owned SUV, Prince George’s County Council member Mel Franklin has made his first appearance at a council meeting.
The veteran member of the county council is charged with driving under the influence in the Nov. 21 crash in which two people were injured. He rear-ended a vehicle at a traffic light on Route 4 in Upper Marlboro, Maryland.
At his first public meeting since the crash, Franklin joined his colleagues in a unanimous vote to create a County Vehicle Use Review Board. The panel will have power to recommend when a council member can have a vehicle taken away for reasons including violations and traffic citations.
Franklin has not had the use of a county vehicle since the November crash.
Among the charges Franklin is facing are negligent driving and failure to control speed. He’s awaiting a court date.
County council meetings typically open with an invocation and at Tuesday’s meeting, Franklin offered an intention.
“Continue to keep all of us in your prayers,” Franklin said.
