Millersville, MD — It appears that a fatal crash in Millersville was caused by a driver violating a basic driving safety rule — never drive onto the shoulder to pass stopped vehicles.
The crash happened around 8 a.m. on Thursday. According to witnesses, a Toyota driven by Elias Matthew Larock, 32, of Millersville, was southbound on Veterans Highway just south of St. Anne Lane when it drove onto the right shoulder to pass stopped vehicles.
Larock attempted to re-enter the line of traffic and struck a Hyundai driven by Jason R. Slack, of Centerville, that was also travelling southbound.
Larock’s Toyota spun counterclockwise, crossed the center line and hit a Ford van driven by Robert Hunter Merriman, of Crownsville, that was travelling northbound on Veterans Highway.
The van came to rest off of the roadway and the Toyota came to rest in the roadway. Larock was transported by ground to an area trauma center where he was pronounced deceased.
The driver of the Ford was transported to a local hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The driver of the Hyundai was not injured.
Preliminarily, the primary cause of the crash appears to be an unsafe lane change on part of the Toyota’s driver.
The Anne Arundel County Police Traffic Safety Section is handing the crash investigation.
