BERLIN — A 38-year-old New Jersey man was struck and killed by a vehicle on Route 50 near Route 589 early Sunday morning.
Around 2:20 a.m. on Sunday, Maryland State Police troopers responded to the area of Route 50 and Route 589 for a reported motor vehicle collision involving a pedestrian. Upon arrival, troopers discovered a 2005 Jeep Wrangler in the travel portion of the roadway. The vehicle was operated by Aaron Craft, 22, of Hampstead, Md. and his passenger was identified as Travis Taylor, 26, of West Ocean City.
The investigation revealed Craft’s vehicle was traveling east on Route 50 when it struck a pedestrian later identified as Stephen Bird, 38, of Madison, N.J. Bird was walking from right to left across the eastbound side of Route 50 and was in the travel portion of the roadway when he was struck by Craft’s vehicle. According to police reports, Craft and Taylor came to a complete stop and exited the vehicle and attempted to locate what they had struck.
Investigators reconstructed the location of the impact and learned Bird was over six feet from the grass median and three feet from the yellow center line. There is no artificial lighting in the area. It was noted in the police report Craft and Taylor were returning from the Casino at Ocean Downs to their residence in Ocean City.
The Worcester County State’s Attorney’s Office met with investigators and no charges are pending against Craft. Alcohol was not a factor, according to police reports.
According to the Star-Ledger in New Jersey, Bird had called somebody in New Jersey just before the crash to say he was on his way home. However, the Star-Ledger report did not indicate what Bird was doing in Maryland.
During the investigation, Route 50 was closed for about four hours to accommodate the reconstruction of the collision. However, there was little to no disruption to eastbound or westbound traffic on the roadway, likely due to the time of day.
Assisting agencies included the MSP Trooper 4, the MSP CRASH team, the Worcester County Sheriff’s Department, Ocean City Fire/Rescue/EMS, Berlin Fire and Rescue and the Maryland State Highway Administration.