The Cost of My Step Son's Life

http://www.explorehoward.com/news/15309/columbia-man-found-guilty-fatal-crash/

Columbia man found guilty in fatal crash

July collision led to changes at Rt. 29/I-70 'crossover'

By Jennifer Broadwater
jbroadwater@patuxent.com

Posted 2/06/09

The Columbia man involved in a July 2008 fatal collision that spurred debate over the safety of the "crossover" intersection at Route 29 and Interstate 70 was found guilty of negligent driving and failure to yield right of way in Howard County District Court last week.
The collision occurred July 19, 2008, when 19-year-old Ellicott City resident Andrew Noel was riding a motorcycle south on Route 29 and a Dodge Durango traveling north on the same road turned in front of him heading for the exit ramp for I-70 west, according to county police. Noel was killed in the collision.
Police charged the driver of the Durango, Robert Mecklenburg, 79, of Columbia, with failure to yield right of way and negligent driving.
At a one-day bench trial Jan. 30, District Court Judge Neil Axel found Mecklenburg guilty of both charges, according to Wayne Kirwan, a spokesman for the Howard County state's attorney.
Mecklenburg had pleaded not guilty on both counts, according to District Court records.
Mecklenburg was fined $257.50 and court costs of $25.50, according to District Court records.
When reached by telephone Feb. 3, Mecklenburg declined to comment.
In an e-mail to her friends and supporters, Andrew Noel's mother, Valerie Noel of Ellicott City, called the ruling "another bittersweet victory."
She said a group of her son's friends supported her at the Jan. 30 hearing. "I'd told the kids at the start of the day that, no matter what was decided in the trial, we were winners because we had Andrew in our lives; nothing can take that away," Noel wrote.
Since her son's death, Valerie Noel has petitioned officials to make the "crossover" safer, or do away with it.
The intersection includes two exit ramps drivers can use to access westbound I-70 from northbound Route 29. One is a traditional right-side cloverleaf ramp, the other a left-side "crossover" exit ramp that requires drivers to cross the southbound lanes of Route 29 to access a separate ramp.
After placing stop signs and rumble strips along the intersection last fall, State Highway Administration officials announced in December that they would install a new stoplight at the crossover. The $114,000 project is expected to be completed by March.