CAPITOL HEIGHTS, MD. – Driving an ATV on a public road without lights after dark and without a helmet or even a seatbelt is the fast-track to eternity as yet another Outlaw ATV operator found out when he was run over by a vehicle. The ATV operator was also transporting a passenger, his teen step-daughter, as he sped to his death on the vehicle that is not legal to take on a public road.
“Life of the Party” Outlaw ATV driver killed in crash on public road
CAPITOL HEIGHTS, MD. – Driving an ATV on a public road without lights after dark and without a helmet or even a seatbelt is the fast-track to eternity as yet another Outlaw ATV operator found out when he was run over by a vehicle. The ATV operator was also transporting a passenger, his teen step-daughter, as he sped to his death on the vehicle that is not legal to take on a public road.
The Prince George’s County Police Department’s Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit is investigating the fatal collision involving the ATV in Capitol Heights.
The dead guy who had a record of driving without regard for Maryland motor vehicle laws was identified by police as 29-year-old Jerome Odom of Beechnut Road in Capitol Heights.
Police said that on December 27, 2015, at about 5:45 pm, patrol officers were called to the 7400 block of Walker Mill Road for the report of a collision involving an ATV and SUV. Odom and a teenage passenger had been on the ATV. Odom was taken to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead. The teenage passenger of the ATV suffered serious injuries. The driver of the SUV was not hurt.
The preliminary investigation reveals the ATV was heading eastbound on Walker Mill Road. An SUV heading westbound on Walker Mill Road struck the ATV as the SUV attempted to make a left turn onto Waterford Drive.
Odom and the passenger were not wearing safety helmets.
ATVS are illegal to drive on county-maintained roadways. If stopped for driving an ATV, the driver faces a fine of up to $290. The ATV can be impounded, and the driver faces the possibility of arrest for operating an uninsured vehicle.
Anyone with information about this fatal collision is asked to call the Prince George’s County Police Department’s Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit at 301-731-4422. Callers wishing to remain anonymous may call Crime Solvers at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477) or text “PGPD plus your message” to CRIMES (274637) on your cell phone or go to www.pgcrimesolvers.com and submit a tip online.
Odom, who lived at 9948 Royal Commerce Place in Largo, Md., at the time of his last arrest, was arrested by Metro Transit Police on Aug. 22, 2014, while driving a 2002 Chevy with suspended registration on Columbia Park Road. In Prince Georges District Court, he was fined $150.
Arrested on a half dozen traffic charges on March 29, 2013, Odom, of 7717 Beechnut Road in Capitol Heights, was charged with reckless driving, DUI, and other charges while operating a 2001 Mercury on Addison Road at Ronald Drive. When the case came to court in Prince Georges County District Court on July 10, 2013, Prince Georges County States Attorney Angela Alsobrooks dropped all the charges with no time and no fine. Representing Odom was attorney Jonathan F.S. Love of Washington, D.C. The deal to drop the charges didn’t require the defendant or the attorney to have to show up for trial.
Arrested by a Maryland State Trooper on Md. Rt. 214 for driving with a phony out-of-state permit on March 23, 2009, Odom made a deal with the Prince Georges County States Attorney on Dec. 11, 2009, to put the case on the Stet Docket with no fine and no time.
NBC 4 interviewed Odom’s aunt, Lolita McKie, who said there had been a family gathering nearby, and family members rushed to the crash scene.
“He was the life of the party in our family,” McKie said. “He was a good person. He was always making you laugh.”
McKie said her nephew was a hard worker who recently got married.
- CAPITOL HEIGHTS, MD. – Driving an ATV on a public road without lights after dark and without a helmet or even a seatbelt is the fast-track to eternity as yet another Outlaw ATV operator found out when he was run over by a vehicle. The ATV operator was also transporting a passenger, his teen step-daughter, as he sped to his death on the vehicle that is not legal to take on a public road.
