State police are investigating whether road rage led to a three-car fatal crash on Route 10 in Anne Arundel County.
Joseph Norfolk, 23, of Queen Anne Road in Glen Burnie, died shortly after noon Friday when his 2002 Cadillac Escalade slammed into the back of a 1996 Ford Contour that stopped suddenly for unknown reasons on Route 10 at Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard, police said.
The Cadillac was then struck by a 2005 Ford truck driven by Jason Fisher, 40, of Gaithersburg, causing the Cadillac to erupt into flames, police said.
The Contour driver, Jason Wise, 24, of Wendover Road in Glen Burnie, has not been charged, said Sgt. Arthur Betts, state police spokesman.
“A couple people said [Wise and Norfolk] may have been involved in some sort of traffic dispute,” Betts said.
He said police were investigating possible road rage but declined to elaborate.
Norfolk?s mother, Kelly Stinchcomb, 44, of Glen Burnie, said her son knew Wise from the neighborhood and that the two had an argument at Luckie?s Food Store on Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard before the crash.
“Joey was such a good boy; he didn?t deserve to die,” Stinchcomb said Monday.
She said Wise called her Sunday to offer his condolences.
Wise could not be reached for comment.
The roadway, with a 55 mph speed limit, was shut down Friday while Anne Arundel firefighters extinguished the flames.
Stinchcomb said the autopsy showed Norfolk died on impact.
“That?s the only thing that soothes my heart right now, knowing he didn?t feel that fire,” she said.
Truck passenger Gary Ponow, 46, was taken to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center with critical injuries.
Another truck passenger, Jose Murillo, 39, was treated at Baltimore Washington Medical Center for non-life-threatening injuries, along with Contour passengers 4-month-old Jeremiah Wise and Bobbi Steiner, 25, of Glen Burnie.
Norfolk?s family said his 9-month-old daughter, Kaylee, “was his whole world.”
A memorial service is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Friday at Holy Trinity Church on Baltimore-Annapolis Boulevard in Glen Burnie.
