DWI HIT PARADE: FATAL TRIFECTA – St. Mary’s Sheriff Tim Cameron says speed and alcohol along with a blown tire at high speed ended lives of Brian Harding and Christopher Goldsmith in a blazing wreck

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  • A fatal crash that took the lives of two men who were in a speeding Volkswagen barreling down Rt. 235 towards Hollywood, is blamed on three factors, a blown tire, alcohol and speed.
Maryland State Police sobriety checkpoint. THE CHESAPEAKE TODAY photo

DWI HIT PARADE: FATAL TRIFECTA – St. Mary’s Sheriff Tim Cameron says speed and alcohol along with a blown tire at high speed ended lives of Brian Harding and Christopher Goldsmith in a blazing wreck

OAKVILLE, MD. — A fatal crash that took the lives of two men who were in a speeding Volkswagen barreling down Rt. 235 towards Hollywood, is blamed on three factors, a blown tire, alcohol and speed.

Mechanicsville Volunteer Fire Department reported on their Facebook page, that their units were on the scene of a wreck in which two persons were dead and one vehicle was fully involved with fire: “Rescue Squad 2, Chief 2, and Chief 2B are on the scene of a serious accident on Three Notch Rd in Hollywood. Reports of one vehicle on fire and two patients deceased. Several other patients will require transport. A helicopter has been requested. Chief 7 has the Command.”

Sheriff Cameron reports that on Sunday, October 8, 2017, at approximately 9:07 P.M., patrol officers from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to the serious motor vehicle collision in the area of Three Notch Road and Friendship School Road. Arriving officers discovered two vehicles involved in the collision, with two occupants ejected from one of the vehicles. The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Collision Reconstruction Unit responded to the scene and assumed the investigation.

According to Cameron, the preliminary investigation determined a 1999 Volkswagen Passat, operated by Brian Michael Harding, 43, of 25869 Bodderleigh Place, Mechanicsville, was traveling south on Three Notch Road.

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Cameron said in a statement that witnesses report the Passat was traveling at a high rate of speed when it suffered a tire failure. Harding lost control of the vehicle causing it to enter the grass median and into the northbound lanes. The Passat was then struck by a 2016 Ford Expedition, operated by Carrie Eubanks,  40, of Leonardtown.

Harding and his passenger, Christopher Raymond Goldsmith, 44, of 40051 Mrs. Graves Road, Mechanicsville, were ejected from their vehicle.

Police say that Brian Harding and Christopher Goldsmith were pronounced deceased on the scene. Carrie Eubanks and a juvenile passenger were transported to MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Two other juvenile occupants were flown to Children’s Hospital Center with non-life-threatening injuries.

 

 

At this time speed and alcohol are believed to be contributing factors. Anyone who may have witnessed the collision or any events leading up to the collision is asked to call Corporal Brandon Foor #235 at 301-475-4200 ext 2265.

Harding was cited by St. Mary’s Sheriff Deputy Austin Schultz for driving on a suspended license on Oct. 11, 2012, almost five years to the date he died in the same vehicle. On Feb. 20, 2013, Harding entered a guilty plea and in the plea deal with St. Mary’s States Attorney Richard Fritz, received a verdict of Probation Before Judgement. THE DEAL: ten days in jail with all of the jail time suspended.  Harding was fined $435.00, however, the plea deal with Fritz suspended $400.00 of the fine.

On January 25, 2011, a final protective order was issued against Harding in a domestic violence case by a St. Mary’s District Court Judge.

Calvert County States Attorney Laura L. Martin

Arrested in Calvert County, Md., for DWI by Calvert Deputy Brian McCourt on April 24, 2007, Harding was able to hook up with a plea deal with the Calvert County States Attorney Laura Martin, on July 18, 2007. THE DEAL: in return for a guilty plea to DWI, Harding walked away with a verdict of Probation Before Judgement, sixty days in jail with all of the jail time suspended and a fine of $242.50. On the same date, Martin put two drug charges against Harding on the Stet Docket as part of the plea deal with attorney Theodore LeBlanc, of Prince Frederick, who represented Harding.

Harding had been pursued to collect from him the support of three children for the past ten years with a petition filed with the St. Mary’s Circuit Court on Aug. 28, 2017 and a hearing set for Nov. 20, 2017 – a date which will now be cancelled and the support for his children going forever uncollected.

Goldsmith threatened to kill victim with a compound bow and got one day in jail with plea deal with Fritz

St. Mary’s States Attorney Richard Fritz

St. Mary’s Sheriff Tim Cameron reported on May 26, 2013, that deputies responded to a residence on Erin Drive in Mechanicsville, Maryland for a report of an assault. The police investigation revealed Christopher Raymond Goldsmith, 40, of Mechanicsville, Maryland was involved in a verbal dispute with the victim. The verbal disputes escalated into an assault when Goldsmith pointed a compound bow loaded with an arrow at the victim and threatened to kill the victim. Goldsmith subsequently lowered the bow and arrow and fled the residence prior to the deputies arriving. Goldsmith was contacted and subsequently arrested. He was charged with first and second-degree assault.

Following his indictment by a St. Mary’s Grand Jury, Goldsmith entered a guilty plea to assault in a plea deal with St. Mary’s States Attorney Richard Fritz on Dec. 6, 2013. THE DEAL: a sentence of 18 months in jail with all but one day of the sentence suspended and four years of supervised probation.

On a DWI arrest of Goldsmith on Nov. 24, 2011, by Tpr. Eric T. Reuschling of the Maryland State Police Leonardtown Barrack, Goldsmith picked up a free taxpayer-provided attorney, Eric Sullivan to make a plea deal for him with Fritz. THE DEAL: On July 13, 2012, Goldsmith pleaded guilty with no jail time and a fine of $217.00.

A plea deal on charges of theft in St. Mary’s Circuit Court ended on April 16, 2002, when Goldsmith entered a guilty plea. THE DEAL: 18 months in jail with all but one month and four days suspended.

  • A fatal crash that took the lives of two men who were in a speeding Volkswagen barreling down Rt. 235 towards Hollywood, is blamed on three factors, a blown tire, alcohol and speed.

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