Catonsville Toddler Dies, Five Injured in Hanover Crash

A 3-year-old Catonsville boy died and five teenagers were in critical condition as the result of a crash on Ridge Road in Hanover Wednesday night, according to police.

Joseph Eugene Sutherlin, 3, had been sitting on a passenger’s lap in the middle backseat of the vehicle, a 1995 Plymouth Acclaim, when it struck a tree and he was ejected, said Anne Arundel County police. 

Emergency personnel responded to the collision on Ridge Road near Furnace Avenue at about 8 p.m. 

Sutherlin was taken to St. Agnes Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to authorities. The driver and four other passengers were in critical condition and taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

With the exception of Sutherlin, the others in the vehicle were teens, police said. They included the driver, Buck John Benny of Halethorpe, 16; Gary Wayne Ellison of Lansdowne, 18; John Raymond Ward of Baltimore, 16; Britney Shifflet of Catonsville, 18; and Jamie Lyn Shifflet of Catonsville, 17.

The Shifflets were Sutherlin’s aunts, and the boy was sitting on Britney Shifflet’s lap when the collision occurred, according to the Baltimore Sun.

“Preliminary investigation determined that speed, reckless driving and driver error were contributing factors to the crash," said police in a press release. “The severity of the injuries and the death of the 3-year-old child were the result of the non-usage of occupant safety restraints/seat belts and a child safety seat."

Youths between the ages of 16 and 20 are involved in crashes with fatality or injury at twice the rate of all other age groups, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Among that age group, 31 percent do not wear seatbelts, said the NHTSA.

“In general, teens have a responsibility and obligation of being a safe driver like everyone else does,” said Lt. Michael Brothers of Anne Arundel County Police.