Before he was led away in handcuffs, former Johns Hopkins doctor Todd Sheridan gave a tearful apology to the family of the college student he struck while driving the wrong way drunk on Interstate 83 in Baltimore.
“I?m so sorry that this ever happened,” Sheridan said Monday in Baltimore City Circuit Court. “I?m so sorry. If I could put myself in her place, I would do it in a second. I know there?s nothing I can do to bring her back. All I can do is try to do some of these things that have been suggested to help keep her memory alive. I remember her every day, and I pray for her every day.”
Sheridan was sentenced to three years behind bars for vehicular manslaughter but under the terms of a plea agreement, he will have his sentence modified after serving just a year and will likely be released. He must stay employed, complete 500 hours of community service, attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and donate $5,000 to a scholarship fund set up in his victim?s honor at the Community College of Baltimore County in Catonsville.
On July 8, 2006, Sheridan, 32, began driving the wrong way on Mount Royal Avenue and, despite the alarmed honks of several drivers, he got on southbound Interstate 83 ? headed north.
He hit barrier walls several times before colliding at 50 mph head-on with a Honda Accord driven by Latrice Nicole Smith, 22, who later died of complications from her injuries.
“She cried out but had no time to react,” prosecutor Lisa Phelps said, adding that Sheridan had driven for about 4 1/2 miles the wrong way on I-83.
Four hours after the collision, Sheridan?s blood alcohol level was 0.18 ? more than twice the legal driving limit of 0.08.
Smith?s passenger, David Johnson, also was seriously injured.
His mother, Glenda Johnson Goodwin, told Sheridan of the pain he has caused her family.
“Right now, I have to remind my son to take a bath,” she said. “The Smith family and the Johnson family, we are saddened but we now have some closure.”
Smith, a Woodlawn High School graduate, was studying forensic science at CCBC.
Her twin sister, Sharice, 24, said that she was “satisfied” with the sentence and that she hoped the scholarship would help carry on her sister?s memory.
“Hopefully, this will help other people,” she said.
