Negligent Driving

In Frederick Man convicted again of drunken driving, given 18-month term FREDERICK - An unemployed construction worker notorious for violating Maryland's drunken-driving laws was convicted yesterday of his 11th offense and sentenced to 18 months in the county jail. The penalty was the stiffest yet for Michael C. Dowdy Sr., 38, of Ashton, who has been charged with alcohol-related driving offenses 16 times since 1984. He still faces prosecution in Montgomery County for a March arrest. A Frederick County sheriff's deputy arrested Dowdy on Nov. 8 after seeing him weaving down Interstate 70 in his Chevrolet Camaro at 70 mph in a 55-mph zone.

A midshipman whose car careered off the Capital Beltway last year as he talked on a cellular phone, killing a couple from New York State, was acquitted of vehicular manslaughter yesterday in Prince George's County Circuit Court. Jason Jones, 20, of Fort Washington was found guilty of negligent driving and fined $500 by Judge Ronald D. Schiff. He could face driving restrictions by the Motor Vehicle Administration. The case was believed to be the first in the country in which prosecutors sought a conviction on manslaughter charges on the basis of a person talking on the telephone while driving.

A Carroll County jury yesterday acquitted a 19-year-old Marriottsville man of two charges of automobile manslaughter in an Eldersburg crash that occurred while he was speeding to get TTC teen-age cousins home by their curfew.William J. Kassakatis was found guilty of seven lesser offenses and fined $2,000 by Circuit Judge Raymond E. Beck Sr. in the June 25 accident.Killed in the accident in the 6600 block of Monroe Ave. were Jill Marie Peay, 15, of the 7400 block of Norris Ave. in Sykesville, and Jessica Erin Harley, 16, of the 1700 block of Maryland Ave. in Shady Side, Anne Arundel County.

A caravan to an amusement park ended in tragedy yesterday morning after a tractor-trailer slammed into a car on a highway shoulder in Cecil County, killing an Anne Arundel County teen-ager and injuring two other people.Nicholas Paul Liberatore, 16, of the 8100 block of Quarterfield Farms Drive in Severn was pronounced dead at the scene after a tractor-trailer driven by Robert Fertner, 49, of Wenonah, N.J., plowed into a car on the side of Interstate 95 near Millard E. Tydings Memorial Bridge about 9 a.m., state police said.

A 19-year-old Severna Park man was convicted in Anne Arundel Circuit Court yesterday of negligent driving in an April accident that killed a 15-year-old honor student.Judge Martin A. Wolff acquitted Joseph Leigh Cornett of a more serious charge, auto manslaughter, in the April 5 accident that killed Bethany Anne Balasic, who was a passenger in Cornett's pickup.Cornett could get up to two months in jail and a $500 fine when he is sentenced Nov. 13. He could have been sentenced to 10 years in prison for auto manslaughter.

A Davidsonville man was arrested Saturday and charged with attempted murder after police said he robbed his girlfriend and ran her over with his pickup truck.Eric Scott McDonald, 27, of the 700 block of Petersburg Road also was charged with assault with intent to murder, assault with intent to rob, robbery, assault, battery, theft, driving while intoxicated, driving under the influence, reckless driving, negligent driving, failure to stop a vehicle at the scene of an accident, and failure to remain at the scene of an accident.

Faced with doubts about circumstances surrounding an accident that killed five people at a Woodlawn bus stop last summer, a Baltimore County judge yesterday acquitted Raymond Charles Haney of charges that could have sent him to prison for 50 years.Circuit Judge John Grason Turnbull II fined Haney $2,500 for speeding and for reckless and negligent driving -- $500 for each victim -- and ordered him to pay another $2,500 in court costs. But the judge said questions remained about whether Haney's driving justified the more serious charges of vehicular manslaughter.

A 23-year-old drug addict who drove with a revoked license for four years was convicted yesterday on charges including automobile manslaughter in a head-on crash that killed an elderly Pikesville electrician last year.The victim, Milton Stuck, 78, was the father-in-law of Beverly Dearing-Stuck, a Maryland Shock Trauma Center nurse who helped create programs there showing young people the lTC medical consequences of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.Travis Jacob Coker of the 2800 block of Guilford Ave. in Baltimore had no alcohol in his blood July 6 when his southbound truck was speeding on the wrong side of Park Heights Avenue Extended near Caves Road and hit Mr. Stuck's car, tests revealed.

...(TC A man whose car struck two joggers, killing one, after he apparently fell asleep at the wheel was charged yesterday with two traffic violations, authorities said.The charges of failure to exercise due care to avoid a pedestrian and negligent driving, which come under state transportation laws, are payable offenses if the driver chooses not to stand trial, according to police.Negligent driving carries a $105 penalty and the other charge carries a $40 penalty.Officers, who conferred with the state attorney's office before filing the charges, said there was no evidence of drug or alcohol use in the accident they caused the death of Terence Burk and the critical injury of David Herlocker on Aug. 10.Police said Robert D. Andrews, 19, an employee of Sheetz in Westminster, had worked from 7:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Aug. 9, and volunteered to work at the Gettysburg store from 10 p.m to 6 a.m. Aug 10. Police said he was returning to his home when his 1990 Chevrolet ran off Route 97 at Kalten Road.

A Silver Spring woman has been charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and negligent driving in connection with a 22-car pileup on Interstate 195 in February that left one man dead and 11 people injured.Terryn Jean Barker, 43, of the 2100 block of Luzerne Ave. was arrested Sunday at her home and taken to a state police barracks. She was released on her promise to appear in court.She also was charged with driving an uninsured vehicle; an insurance company canceled her coverage when it discovered that she had falsified information on the application, state police said.