Officer Pleads Guilty in Fatal Harford County Drunk Driving Crash on Maryland I-95

A county police officer involved in a Harford County hit-and-run accident that took a man's life may face up to seven years in prison. Officer Dane Hall, 29, of Perryville, Maryland, plead guilty to negligent homicide while intoxicated in addition to leaving the scene of an accident in the death of Antonio Martinez, 28.

In this unfortunate case -- as we Maryland car accident lawyers have seen time and time again -- the lives of not one but two families are changed forever when someone's alcohol-impaired driving causes a car accident that takes someone's life.

According to news reports, Hall admitted he had been drinking with several other police officers at an after-shift party the night of January 27, 2008. Hall left the party in the early morning hours of Jan. 28 and drove his Nissan Pathfinder into the back of Martinez's Ford Explorer on I-95 near the Maryland House rest stop. The impact sent the Explorer spinning out of control before it flipped over and landed in the southbound lane.

Officer Hall claimed that though he thought he hit something and knew his airbag deployed, he didn't see anything and drove his vehicle home. State Police found his license plate in the wreckage, linking Hall to the fatal accident. Hall will be sentenced July 24 and could face up to 7 years in prison -- the maximum sentence allowed in the plea agreement with the state.

This case of a Harford County, Maryland police officer convicted in a fatal hit-and-run drunk driving accident shows that alcohol-impaired driving can affect anyone, regardless of their profession.

Harford County, Maryland Car Accident Statistics
According to National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) data gathered for the year 2007...

Of the 29 traffic fatalities in Harford County, 6 deaths involved alcohol-impaired driving.

In comparison, Harford County drunk-driving deaths were lower than in neighboring Baltimore County, which saw 31 traffic fatalities due to alcohol-impaired driving (urban areas in Maryland have a higher traffic fatality rate than in rural areas). In nearby Carroll County, 1 of the 21 traffic deaths was due to drunk driving.