Maryland Man Pleads Guilty to Negligent Homicide and Other Charges In Traffic Fatality on the Key Bridge
- Impaired Driver Struck Victim, Who Was Pushing Stalled Moped, Then Fled -

     WASHINGTON - Anthony L. Randolph, 41, of Germantown, Maryland, pled guilty today to negligent homicide and other charges stemming from a fatal traffic accident that took place in February 2011 on the Key Bridge, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced.

     Randolph pled guilty in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia to charges of operating while impaired and leaving the scene of a collision that caused personal injury. The Honorable Gerald I. Fisher scheduled sentencing for January 27, 2012. Randolph faces a maximum period of incarceration of five years for the offense of negligent homicide. The charge of operating while impaired carries a penalty of up to 30 days of imprisonment, and the charge of leaving the scene after colliding and causing personal injury carries up to six months.

     According to a statement of offense, agreed upon by the government and the defendant, on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at about 10:30 p.m., the victim, Eliester Pineda-Medrano drove onto the Key Bridge on a 2006 Piaggio Moped. Mr. Pineda-Medrano, 23, entered into the right travel lane in the outbound direction of the Key Bridge. This area is within the jurisdiction of the District of Columbia. The weather was clear and the area was lit by street lamps.

     Approximately mid-span, the moped stalled and Mr. Pineda-Medrano began to try to push-start it. Several cars observed this and moved to the left of Mr. Pineda-Medrano, passing him safely and without incident.

     Randolph had consumed alcohol at a bar prior to driving his vehicle that night. He drove onto the bridge, on a green signal, and headed outbound. In doing so, he failed to observe Mr. Pineda-Medrano, and then he failed to slow or brake before striking him.

     The impact of the collision caused Mr. Pineda-Medrano to be thrown onto the hood of the defendant’s vehicle. Randolph, whose air bag deployed, stopped momentarily, but he failed to render assistance or make his identity known. Instead, he fled onto the George Washington Parkway, going toward Maryland. Another motorist, who turned out to be a Good Samaritan, followed him and got close enough to get his tag number and alert police.

     Mr. Pineda-Medrano was transported by ambulance to George Washington Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

     At 10:50 p.m., a trooper with the Maryland State Police, working from a stationary position beside northbound Interstate 270, near Montrose Road, observed a Mercury Mariner traveling north on the highway and operating without a tire on the right front wheel.

     The vehicle was emitting sparks and bore the same license tag noted by the motorist who saw the defendant on the George Washington Parkway. A traffic stop was conducted. The state trooper observed front-end damage to the Mercury Mariner as well as an air bag deployment. The trooper administered Standardized Field Sobriety Tests and concluded that Randolph failed the tests. Randolph subsequently refused to submit to breath testing.

     In announcing the plea, U.S. Attorney Machen praised the efforts of those who worked on the case for the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD), including Detectives Sheryl Harley, Michael Miller, and Scott Earhardt of the Major Crash Unit, as well as Officer Robert McCollum of the Mobile Crime Laboratory. Mr. Machen particularly expressed appreciation for the work of Trooper Jason Whetstone of the Maryland State Police. He also praised the work of Paralegal Sandra Lane, Victim Advocate Yvonne Bryant, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael T. Truscott, who investigated and prosecuted the case.

 

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