BERLIN – Several accidents involving motorcycles in the resort area over the extended Memorial Day holiday weekend left one dead, several other injured and one arrested for carrying a loaded handgun in his vehicle.
The string of accidents and incidents involving motorcycles began shortly after 5 p.m. last Saturday when Worcester County Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a reported motorcycle crash on Eagle’s Nest Rd. in West Ocean City. Upon arrival, deputies learned the driver and a female passenger had both been ejected from the motorcycle during the crash.
The female passenger was transported by Maryland State Police Aviation to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma unit in Baltimore and was listed in critical condition. The male driver was transported to Atlantic General Hospital in Berlin for undisclosed injuries. According to preliminary reports, neither of the occupants was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. The investigation into that incident is ongoing and charges are pending. According to preliminary reports, speed was a factor in the collision.
Not long after that incident, Sheriff’s deputies responded to another accident involving a motorcycle in Bishopville that claimed the life of a Denton man. Around 7:40 p.m. last Saturday, Sheriff’s Deputies responded to a reported single vehicle motorcycle accident on St. Martin’s Neck Rd. in Bishopville just north of Route 90.
The investigation revealed the driver and passenger of the motorcycle had been ejected after striking a guardrail at an excessive rate of speed. The driver, later identified as John Glanden, 42, of Denton, was pronounced dead at the scene. The unidentified female passenger was transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury with serious injuries. A preliminary investigation indicated speed and alcohol as factors in the crash. An investigation by the Worcester County Fatal Crash Investigation Unit is ongoing.
A few days later on Wednesday, two more people were injured in a motorcycle accident in Worcester County in an incident that led to the discovery of a loaded handgun. Around 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Maryland State Police troopers responded to the area of Route 113 near Cropper Island Rd. for a reported motor vehicle collision.
While conducting an investigation into the collision, troopers discovered a loaded 9mm handgun located inside the left saddlebag of one of the motorcycles involved in the accident. The 2007 Harley Davidson was driven by its registered owner, David Drew, of Mulberry, Fla., while the passenger of the motorcycle, Deborah Drew, also of Mulberry, Fla. claimed ownership of the gun.
The handgun was a 9mm Kel-Tec semi-automatic pistol with a full magazine of seven rounds loaded inside the weapon and a round chambered. It was later discovered Deborah Drew did not have a valid permit to carry the weapon in the state of Maryland. Both David Drew and Deborah Drew were transported to PRMC for treatment of injuries sustained in the crash.
A Maryland State Police trooper obtained a criminal summons from District Court charging Deborah Drew with the weapons violation and eventually served the paperwork to her while she was still at PRMC. She was released after signing the summons and the weapon was seized by the MSP. Meanwhile, the investigation determined David Drew was the at-fault driver in the accident and he was issued the appropriate traffic citations although he does not face any charges related to the firearms possession. Both David and Deborah Drew were later released from PRMC after treatment for minor injuries from the accident.