BERLIN – The weekend took a tragic turn when two separate car accidents resulted in two fatalities in Worcester County.
Shortly after 11 a.m. last Friday, Maryland State Police (MSP) troopers from the Berlin barrack responded to a reported traffic crash on Route 12 near the Pocomoke River Bridge in Snow Hill. Upon arrival, MSP troopers and EMS providers were advised by a witness that a truck was fully submerged in the middle of the Pocomoke River, according to police reports.
Responding members from the Salisbury Fire Department Dive Team located the vehicle and recovered the victim, identified as Robert Jarrell, 73, of Snow Hill. EMS personnel pronounced Jarrell deceased at the scene. He was taken to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for an autopsy.
The preliminary investigation indicated Jarrell was traveling southbound on Route 12 and crossed over the northbound lanes for reasons unknown. The vehicle, a GMC Denali truck, then entered a roadside parking lot and continued traveling into the Pocomoke River, where the vehicle came to rest, according to police reports. Jarrell was the sole occupant of the vehicle.
The cause and contributing factors involved in the crash remain under investigation this week. All possible causes are being considered, according to police reports.
At around 6:15 a.m. the following morning, MSP troopers responded to a reported single vehicle crash on Route 113 at Germantown Road in Berlin. Upon arrival, troopers located a Ford Crown Victoria engulfed in flames in the center median, according to police reports.
The vehicle’s passenger, who had not been named pending notification of next of kin, was pronounced deceased at the scene by emergency medical services personnel. The driver of the vehicle is identified as Miguel Carrion, 33, of Snow Hill. After a trooper on the scene pulled Carrion from the burning vehicle, he was transported to TidalHealth Peninsula Regional Hospital in Salisbury where he was treated for injuries. The driver’s condition was not known as of late this week.
According to a preliminary investigation, the driver was traveling northbound on Route 113 when the vehicle spun off the roadway, into the trees, and came to rest in the center median. MSP troopers investigating the crash believe inclement weather may have been a contributing factor in the crash, although the investigation remains open this week.
All lanes on northbound Route 113 were closed as during the investigation and as the crash scene was cleared.
