Man Who Caused Fatal Alexandria Crash Sentenced to Prison
An Alexandria man who was intoxicated and had used drugs, and then drove his truck more than 50 miles per hour over the speed limit before crashing into a tree and killing his front seat passenger was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for manslaughter.
According to court documents, on May 31, 2020, at approximately 5:45 p.m., Samuel Meyer, 22, was driving his Toyota Tacoma truck southbound on the George Washington Memorial Parkway, which is a federal land. Near Mt. Vernon Circle, as the road curves, Meyer lost control of his truck, left the roadway, and crashed into the woods next to the travel lanes. The truck crashed with such force that the skin of the passenger side of the vehicle was peeled off entirely, and the front passenger door of the vehicle was embedded into a tree a short distance from where the truck came to a stop. Meyer’s front seat passenger, Michael Cunningham, 19, who was wearing his seatbelt, was transported by ambulance to the hospital. Hospital personnel could not resuscitate him, and he died from blunt trauma injuries to his head, neck, trunk, and extremities.
Meyer and a backseat passenger were also transported to the hospital with minor injuries. About three and a half hours after the crash, blood samples were taken from Meyer. An analysis showed that Meyer’s blood alcohol content was .09 g/100 mL, still above the legal limit hours after the crash. Also present in Meyer’s blood were benzoylecgonine, the main metabolite of cocaine; THC, the psychoactive compound in marijuana; and cocaethylene, which is formed by the liver when cocaine and alcohol coexist in the blood.
Meyer’s vehicle’s electronic data recorder revealed that he was driving 85.1 miles per hour at the time of impact. The speed limit at the location of the accident is 35 miles per hour. There was no sign that Meyer had applied his brakes and the accelerator was pressed for the last five seconds prior to impact. The roadway was clear and dry, and Meyer’s truck was working properly with no defects or malfunctions. Just before the accident, Cunningham and the other passenger had each implored Meyer to slow down.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Pamela A. Smith, Chief of U.S. Park Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patricia Haynes and Marc J. Birnbaum prosecuted the case.
Original source can be found here
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