Driver in Fatal Crash Was Texting, Prosecutors Say

A Severn woman has been charged with negligent manslaughter in connection to a fatal crash in Gambrills in March, in which prosecutors said she was texting while driving. 

Police said Elizabeth Haley Meyers, 20, was trying to cross Route 3 when her car was struck by a motorcyclist. The operator of the motorcyclist, 30-year-old Jonathan Wesley Roberts, died in the crash. 

The Baltimore Sun reported that witnesses saw Meyers texting on a mobile phone as she pulled into the roadway. Cellphone records reportedly back up those claims. 

Police served an arrest warrant on Oct. 2. Meyers has been charged with several offenses, including negligent manslaughter, reckless driving and failure to yield, according to online court records. 

Meyers is tentatively scheduled to stand trial in February, according to online court records. 

Heather Stone, a spokeswoman for the Anne Arundel County State's Attorney's Office, said this it the first case in the county of auto manslaughter in which a person was charged with texting while driving.

A new law that went into effect on Oct. 1 makes handheld cell phone use while driving a primary offense. Prior to that, it was a secondary offense.