DRIVER SEEN HEADED WRONG WAY KILLED IN CHARLES CO. CRASH

(WALDORF, MD) – A driver observed by a state trooper to be headed east in the westbound lanes of a Charles County highway was fatally injured in a crash moments later when he accelerated away from the trooper attempting to stop him.

The driver is identified as Gerard V. Hall, 48, whose last known address was the 800-block of Roxbury Court, Waldorf, Md. Hall’s driver’s license was revoked and he had an alcohol restriction requiring an ignition interlock system. He was the driver and sole occupant of a 2012 Nissan Altima without an interlock system registered to an apparent friend at the same address.

At 11:15 p.m. yesterday, a trooper assigned to the La Plata Barrack called in the tag number of the vehicle Hall was driving. Moments before, the trooper had observed the Nissan being driven east in the westbound lanes of Smallwood Drive. The driver had pulled into a business parking lot, where he was seen unbuckling his seat belt before pulling back out onto Smallwood Drive, this time headed east in the eastbound lanes.

The trooper activated his emergency lights to attempt a traffic stop, but the driver immediately accelerated away. Seconds later and about one-quarter of a mile away, the Nissan traveled straight through the T-intersection of Smallwood Drive and St. Charles Parkway and struck a tree. Hall was transported by ambulance to the University of Maryland Charles Regional Hospital, where he was later pronounced deceased.

Hall’s body will be transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore for an autopsy. Troopers at the scene smelled a strong odor of an alcoholic beverage, but will await toxicology tests for confirmation of alcohol consumption.

The investigation by the Maryland State Police Crash Team is continuing. Troopers have briefed the Charles County State’s Attorney’s Office on the investigation and will be forwarding the detailed crash investigation to that office for review upon completion.