Meghan St. Martin, the teenage driver of a Volvo struck by tractor-trailer in Jessup, finds herself in a unique position almost a year after the fatal crash.
The parents of the two teenagers killed in the accident ? her friends Theresa Howard, 18, and Scott Caplan, 19 ? have named St. Martin in a multi-million dollar lawsuit.
St. Martin, of Marriottsville, also is suing the truck driver, Howard County, the state of Maryland and former Howard County Police Officer Patrick Eckley for negligence.
On Jan. 6, a tractor-trailer, operated by Gary L. Dicks, 24, of Stephens City, Va., collided with St. Martin?s Volvo at the intersection of Route 175 and Interstate 95. The traffic light had failed and been out for more than an hour. Eckley saw that the light was out and left the scene, according to the lawsuit.
St. Martin is not surprised the wrongful death lawsuit names her, said her attorney Michael Smith.
“The council for the Howards and the Caplans had previously placed Meghan?s insurance company on notice that she might be named,” she said.
Paul Sandler, an attorney for the Howard family, declined to comment on St. Martin?s involvement in the case.
The suits against St. Martin say she failed to slow down at the intersection. “In fact, St. Martin accelerated her vehicle.”
But St. Martin?s lawsuit against Dicks tells a different story. St. Martin “was operating her motor vehicle in a safe and careful manner on westbound Route 175. As she approached … the tractor-trailer violently and without warning pulled out into the intersection directly into the path of her vehicle and caused a collision,” the lawsuit says.
Examiner Staff Writer Luke Broadwater contributed to this report.
