Maryland man, 19, pleads to negligent vehicular manslaughter in Md. 67 crash

A 19-year-old Rohrersville man was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in jail on Wednesday for negligent vehicular manslaughter and driving impaired by drugs for the December 2022 crash that led to the death of his passenger and one of his best friends. He has significant suspended time hanging over him if he violates probation.

Wyatt Edward Earp pleaded guilty Wednesday morning in Washington County Circuit Court to the negligent vehicular manslaughter and driving impaired by a controlled dangerous substance charges as part of a plea deal. Other charges were dropped as part of the deal.

Earp's passenger that night, Dylan E. Fagnano, 18, of the Knoxville area, was able to extricate himself from the crashed 2012 Chevrolet Equinox but later died from his injuries, Assistant State's Attorney Dakota Parrish said during the court hearing.

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The Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022, crash on Rohersville Road, also known as Md. 67, occurred in the area of Park Hall Road. That area is north of Rohrersville. It was reported around 2:36 a.m.

Earp, at Meritus Medical Center after the crash, consented around 5 a.m. to a blood draw. The substances found in his blood included benzoylecgonine (a cocaine metabolite), THC and hydroxy THC, prosecutors said.

THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, is a hallucinatory ingredient in marijuana.

Earp told Judge Mark K. Boyer he'd "never wish this upon anybody."

He said he knows people lost a son, grandson and brother, and that he lost one of his best friends.

"Please understand, this was an accident," said Earp, who cried or tried to stifle his cries through much of the hearing.

Looking to Fagnano's grandmother and one of his brothers in the court gallery, Earp said something that could not be clearly heard.

Fagnano's grandmother, who was also Fagnano's guardian, responded to Earp, "I know boy, I know."

SUV was speeding before crash

Assistant State's Attorney Cyrus Jaghoory told Boyer that Earp could have taken an Uber ride that night rather than get behind the wheel impaired.

Jaghoory lamented that so many people disobey traffic laws. He referenced the lack of turn signals, tailgating and weaving in and out of traffic he sees on Interstate 70. It seems once many people get their driver's license, they don't think the rules apply to them, he said.

Parrish told Boyer that a crash investigator determined that 5 seconds before the crash, the Equinox was traveling about 98 mph and the accelerator pedal was at 74%. At 4 seconds before, the SUV was going 99 mph and the accelerator was at 0%.

The SUV's speed decreased from 90 mph to 68 mph from 3.5 seconds to 1 second before the crash, and had slowed to 31 mph at 0.5 seconds, Parrish said. An investigator determined that the 37 mph drop in speed at the end was from the impact with a tree.

The crash report says the speed limit in that area is 55 mph, according to Jaghoory.

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Defense attorney Mary Drawbaugh said Earp "believed in good faith" that there was a deer in the road and he swerved.

He had been with friends who were on a multiday bender — "drinking, drugging and being cool" — going to multiple places, Drawbaugh said. Earp, being a "pleaser," wanted to fit in and made a poor decision to get behind the wheel that night, she said.

She talked about Earp, 18 at the time of the crash, as not having a large frame and getting in with the wrong crowd. That led him on a path to addiction and risk.

Earp completed 26 weeks of treatment and "manned up," accepting responsibility for his actions, Drawbaugh told the judge.

Jaghoory recommended a 10-year sentence with five of those years suspended.

Drawbaugh said Earp knew he was going to do time, but she asked that it be in the Washington County Detention Center — and not in state prison — and later switch it to home detention. She said she believed sending Earp to state prison would "destroy him."

She referred to numerous letters in support of Earp that she gave to the judge before the hearing began. Those letters were from the more than dozen people in the court gallery there to support Earp.

The letters, she said, described Earp as having integrity and compassion; being a hard worker with a job, and having participated in the FFA and sports.

There is "not one second that this young boy doesn't relive what happened on that occasion," Drawbaugh said.

"On my client's behalf, I apologize," Drawbaugh said. There's no doubt he's remorseful, she said.

'Alcohol and drugs are not the way to go'

Dylan's grandmother told the judge that Dylan's death "destroyed" her and has affected her health.

"I can't go in his room," she said.

She said community members will miss Dylan. He was "very smart with automobiles and body work. Every time something needed fixed, it was, 'Call Dylan.' "

"He was a good boy," she added.

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One of Dylan's brothers also was in court and addressed Boyer.

He said their family is not big and Dylan was a big presence in the family.

"This was no accident," he said.

While Dylan's brother said he did not believe the crash was intentional, he noted drugs and speed being factors.

"Wyatt, I don't hate you. I will forgive you one day. That's my faith," Dylan's brother said.

He told the judge that Earp should face harsh consequences and that he hopes this incident "teaches everyone a lesson. Alcohol and drugs are not the way to go."

Judge sends message about public safety with sentence

Boyer agreed with Jaghoory that an Uber ride could have prevented "this senseless tragedy."

He also noted that it's been less than two years since another tragic crash involving speed claimed the lives of three Clear Spring area teens, and mentioned a more recent crash involving a young man.

"It's not missed by this court that this continues to happen," Boyer said.

Maybe it's the ages of the drivers or peer pressure, he said.

Referring to a judicial colleague who talks about two types of crimes, ones of meanness and ones of weakness, Boyer said this one was one of "weakness."

Boyer also said he appreciated that Fagnano was "engaged in the activities" that Earp was engaged in as well.

Boyer said public safety played a large role in the sentence he issued Earp, as well as rehabilitation, deterrence and punishment.

Boyer sentenced Earp to 10 years in state prison on the negligent vehicular manslaughter charge, but then suspended all but 18 months of that and said it would be served at the detention center. Earp has two days credit for time served.

On the driving impaired conviction, Boyer sentenced Earp to a consecutive year at the detention center. Earp may participate in the jail's drug abuse program.

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When Earp is released, he will be on probation for five years that will be supervised and involve a drinking and driving monitoring program. He also is to get a mental health evaluation, with Boyer saying he believed Earp has PTSD.

The judge said he understood that Earp was dealing with both physical and emotional pain from the crash, and believes he is remorseful.

Boyer told Earp that when he gets his driver's license back he is not to have one moving violation.

"You should be the 65 mph in front of me and have me wondering, 'Why is this car going 65 mph?'" Boyer said of interstate traffic.

This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Washington County man sentenced in crash that led to friend's death