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Police arrest man involved in fatal hit-and-run accident
Issue date: 10/29/09
Baltimore Police have arrested the man they believe was responsible for the hit-and-run accident that killed junior Miriam Frankl, but are continuing to gather evidence before they can charge him with vehicular manslaughter.
On Monday, Thomas Meighan of Elkridge, MD, was charged with 18 traffic violations, including erratic driving, disobeying traffic signals and driving on a suspended license.
However, nine of his traffic violations charges have since been dropped, including charges that alleged that he was driving erratically on St.Paul Street.
Prosecutors are still investigating the charge of vehicular manslaughter and verifying the fact that Meigham was indeed the driver of the white Ford that caused Frankl's death.
Witnesses allegedly reported to the Baltimore police that Meighan was driving erratically around 1 p.m., well before the hit-and-run accident on the corner of St. Paul and E. University. Â
According to Marty Burns, the spokesperson for the State's Attorney's office, Meighan has not yet been charged with manslaughter or driving under the influence due to the extensive amount of evidence that must be gathered. Â
"Those cases generally take six to eight weeks for the accident reconstruction team to build an investigation that prosecutors can review, so at this time those cases are still under investigation," Burns said. Â
Based on evidence given by numerous witnesses, traffic violations charges were made against him this past weekend, although many of the minor charges requiring a monetary fine had been dropped as of Tuesday.
Burns stressed that investigations on this case are still ongoing. Â
As of Monday, Meighan was being held in the city jail. His bail was renewed on Monday, and prosecutors had decided that he would not be released on bail because according to Burns, "He posed a serious threat to public safety to the citizens of Baltimore." Â
Meighan has traffic violations cases pending from many counties in Maryland, including the counties of Montgomery, Prince George's, Carrol and Hartford.Â
Meighan also has a case pending from July 31, where he was charged with driving under the influence and for leaving the scene of a serious car accident on the Gwynn's Falls Parkway. He is due to be tried for that case on Dec. 11. Meighan was released on a $130,000 bail in July. Â
Dennis O'Shea, spokesperson for the University, said that the community is grateful for the hard work that the police and attorneys have put into this case, although closure to the case will not undo the accident.Â
"Certainly nothing that anyone does now brings Miriam back and that's a tragedy, but the work that the police are doing could conceivably prevent a future tragedy and that would be the best outcome that we could hope for from this situation," O'Shea said.
The University has not yet set a date for memorial services for Frankl.Â
Meighan's attorney could not be reached for comment.
On Monday, Thomas Meighan of Elkridge, MD, was charged with 18 traffic violations, including erratic driving, disobeying traffic signals and driving on a suspended license.
However, nine of his traffic violations charges have since been dropped, including charges that alleged that he was driving erratically on St.Paul Street.
Prosecutors are still investigating the charge of vehicular manslaughter and verifying the fact that Meigham was indeed the driver of the white Ford that caused Frankl's death.
Witnesses allegedly reported to the Baltimore police that Meighan was driving erratically around 1 p.m., well before the hit-and-run accident on the corner of St. Paul and E. University. Â
According to Marty Burns, the spokesperson for the State's Attorney's office, Meighan has not yet been charged with manslaughter or driving under the influence due to the extensive amount of evidence that must be gathered. Â
"Those cases generally take six to eight weeks for the accident reconstruction team to build an investigation that prosecutors can review, so at this time those cases are still under investigation," Burns said. Â
Based on evidence given by numerous witnesses, traffic violations charges were made against him this past weekend, although many of the minor charges requiring a monetary fine had been dropped as of Tuesday.
Burns stressed that investigations on this case are still ongoing. Â
As of Monday, Meighan was being held in the city jail. His bail was renewed on Monday, and prosecutors had decided that he would not be released on bail because according to Burns, "He posed a serious threat to public safety to the citizens of Baltimore." Â
Meighan has traffic violations cases pending from many counties in Maryland, including the counties of Montgomery, Prince George's, Carrol and Hartford.Â
Meighan also has a case pending from July 31, where he was charged with driving under the influence and for leaving the scene of a serious car accident on the Gwynn's Falls Parkway. He is due to be tried for that case on Dec. 11. Meighan was released on a $130,000 bail in July. Â
Dennis O'Shea, spokesperson for the University, said that the community is grateful for the hard work that the police and attorneys have put into this case, although closure to the case will not undo the accident.Â
"Certainly nothing that anyone does now brings Miriam back and that's a tragedy, but the work that the police are doing could conceivably prevent a future tragedy and that would be the best outcome that we could hope for from this situation," O'Shea said.
The University has not yet set a date for memorial services for Frankl.Â
Meighan's attorney could not be reached for comment.
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