Billing of Deceased Elkridge Woman for Fatal Crash Damages Makes National News

The State Highway Administration (SHA) apologized for sending a bill to a deceased Elkridge woman for damages to a guardrail in the crash that killed her, according to The Baltimore Sun.

According to the Sun article, the uncle of 24-year-old Sarah Stebbins—who was killed on May 29 in a collision on MD 32 near US 29—contacted the newspaper after her parents received a letter containing graphic information about the incident and a bill for $641.71.

The Sun reported that once its staff contacted the SHA about the matter on Aug. 19, the head of the organization called the Stebbins family to apologize for what it called a “billing error.”

Stebbins, who lived in Elkridge, died after her Nissan Xterra struck a guard rail on MD 32 and rolled over onto the driver’s side. that speed was a factor and that Stebbins, who was ejected from the vehicle, wasn’t wearing her seatbelt.

In June, friends and family held a procession and where they shared messages about seatbelt safety. 

The letter that came two months later, addressed to Sarah Stebbins, included not just the $641.71 charge for guardrail damage but also an incident report with more details than the family wanted to know, said the Sun.

The SHA said that billing is standard for incidents when there is not a fatality involved and accepted responsibility for the error.

The story made national news, after it was picked up by NBC Washington and the Associated Press, which ran the article in publications from Boston to Indiana to North Carolina.