Driver charged with manslaughter in fatal collision with utility worker

Driver charged with manslaughter in fatal collision with utility worker
Police car - File photo

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 southbound 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 traveling at 50 mph in a 40-mph zone and had a blood alcohol content of 0.19, more than twice the legal limit. Investigators also found a half-empty bottle of alcohol in the front passenger seat of her vehicle.

Dyson was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency responders. According to authorities, Campbell was driving on a suspended out-of-state license and in an uninsured vehicle at the time of the crash.

Campbell was taken into custody Monday and charged with multiple offenses, including negligent manslaughter by vehicle, negligent homicide by vehicle while under the influence, and driving with a suspended license. She is being held at the Montgomery County Central Processing Unit and awaits a bond hearing.