Calling their deaths “completely preventable,” the parents of two teenagers killed at an intersection where a traffic light had been out for more than an hour filed wrongful death lawsuits.
“The Caplans are obviously devastated by what happened,” said Douglas Furlong, the attorney for Roger and Nancy Caplan, whose son, Scott Caplan, 19, of Columbia, was killed with Theresa Howard, 18, of Sykesville, in a collision that caused Howard County police to change departmental policy.
Filed Nov. 13 in Howard County Circuit Court, the lawsuits name nearly everyone involved in the collision and seek $5 million from:
» The truck driver and company whose vehicle killed Caplan and Howard;
» A Maryland State Trooper and state police;
» A former Howard County police officer;
» The state of Maryland;
» Meghan St. Martin, who drove Caplan and Howard that night.
“You have a tragic loss under clearly preventable circumstances that make the tragic loss more harrowing,” said Paul Sandler, the attorney for the Howards.
At 9:25 p.m. Jan. 6, power failed at the traffic light at the intersection of southbound Interstate 95 and westbound Route 175 in Jessup, according to court documents.
About an hour and 15 minutes later, with the light still out, a tractor-trailer struck a Volvo at the intersection. Caplan and Howard, who were in the Volvo, were pronounced dead at the scene the documents say.
A Maryland State Police officer and a Howard County officer responded to the scene of the intersection where the light was out, but left the intersection unattended, according to the suit.
The suit says the officers? decision to leave the darkened intersection amounts to “reckless, outrageous … disregard for human life.”
After the crash, Howard County police ordered officers never again to leave the scene of a nonworking traffic light without marking the intersection for motorists.
Bill Howard, Theresa Howard?s father, said his family is carrying on his daughter?s charity work with thehomeless.
“She is our angel,” he said.
Examiner Staff Writer Megan McIlroy contributed to this article.
