PRESS RELEASE FOR MOTOR VEHICLE COLLISION AT RT. 4/WHITE SANDS DRIVE ON APRIL 23RD, 2017

At 8:06 pm on April 23, 2017, units from the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office and the Maryland State Police responded to the area of northbound Maryland Route 2/4 and White Sands Drive Lusby, in reference to a serious single vehicle crash.  A preliminary investigation revealed an unknown truck towing a trailer with what appeared to be “children’s playground equipment”, dropped a large green plastic pipe (part if a slide) in lane #2 on the northbound side of Maryland Route 2/4.  A blue 2004 Ford Explorer, operated by Bertina Thompson  (26 of Lusby), was traveling northbound in lane #2, swerved to the right to avoid the debris in the roadway.  In an attempt to steer back into lane #2, the Sport Utility vehicle over corrected and induced a spin in a counter-clockwise direction.  Roadway evidence indicated that the front right tire rolled (off the rim) causing the vehicle to rollover 3 times in the roadway. 

During the rollover, a 5 year old female child, name withheld, who was seated in the third row bench seat, unbelted/unsecured/no child safety seat (exact position unknown), was ejected from the vehicle.  The front right passenger was identified as Bertha Thompson (58 of Lusby) and was not wearing her seatbelt.  Rudolph Mackall (62 of Huntingtown) was seated in the right seat of the second row bench seat and was not wearing his seatbelt.  A female infant (2 months), name withheld, was seated in the second row middle seat, in a carrier, but was not secured.  A 10 year old female juvenile, name withheld, was seated in the third row bench seat, exact position unknown, and was also not secured by a seat belt.

Bertina Thompson, sustained serious injuries and was flown by MSP Aviation Medivac Trooper 7 to Washington Hospital Center ( Medstar), where she is listed in serious but stable condition.  The 5 year old, who was ejected, was also transported by Trooper 7 to Children’s National Medical Center (Washington, DC), where she is listed a critical condition with life threatening injuries.  Rudolph Mackall and Bertha Thompson were transported to Calvert Memorial Hospital by ground transport with non-life threatening injuries.  The 10 year old female Juvenile and the 2 month old infant female were transported by MSP Aviation Medivac Trooper 2 to Children’s National Medical Center, where they are both listed as stable and being treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Winston-Salem, North Carolina: On September 18^th, 2016, Deputy Sheriff John Isenhour was struck by a vehicle at the entrance to Tanglewood Park on Clemmons Road at approximately 10 a.m. while he was working at an annual cycling event. Deputy Isenhour was transported to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, where he was treated and remained in critical condition.  We have the sad duty of reporting that Deputy Isenhour succumbed to his injuries during the evening of September 28^th, 2016, ten days after the accident.Winston-Salem, North Carolina: On September 18^th, 2016, Deputy Sheriff John Isenhour was struck by a vehicle at the entrance to Tanglewood Park on Clemmons Road at approximately 10 a.m. while he was working at an annual cycling event. Deputy Isenhour was transported to Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, where he was treated and remained in critical condition.  We have the sad duty of reporting that Deputy Isenhour succumbed to his injuries during the evening of September 28^th, 2016, ten days after the accident.

            This investigation is ongoing.  If anyone has information regarding the truck/trailer combination transporting the playground equipment, please contact DFC. Hardesty or Cpl. Moschetto of the Calvert County Sheriff’s Crash Reconstruction Team (410)535-2800.