Driver suspected of manslaughter in fatal collision with utility company

On By Pranco





GAITHERSBURG, Md. – A Silver Spring woman has been arrested in connection with a fatal pedestrian collision that killed a WSSC Water employee working along New Hampshire Avenue earlier this year.

Dori Campbell, 35, was driving a black 2011 Volkswagen CC south on New Hampshire Avenue on September 8 when she struck and killed 39-year-old Ernest Joseph Dyson of Clinton. The collision occurred around 4:40 a.m. near the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue and Rodney Road, where Dyson was performing utility work.

Police said Campbell was driving at 50 miles per hour in a 60 mile per hour zone and had a blood alcohol level of 0.19, more than twice the legal limit. Investigators also found a half-empty bottle of alcohol on the passenger seat of her vehicle.

Dyson was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency responders. Authorities say Campbell was driving an out-of-state driver’s license and an uninsured vehicle at the time of the crash.

Campbell was taken into custody Monday and charged with multiple offenses, including negligent vehicular manslaughter, negligent vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated, and driving with a suspended license. She is being held at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit and awaiting a bond hearing.