A Stevensville man will serve 18 months in the Queen Anne’s County Detention Center after pleading guilty to grossly negligent manslaughter by automobile that involved an April 2016 deadly crash that killed a Queenstown man.

Tobin Dixon, 21, pleaded guilty to the manslaughter charge and was sentenced in the Queen Anne’s County Circuit Court on January 24, 2017.  Dixon was sentenced to five years at the Division of Corrections; however, the Judge suspended all but 18 months of that sentence.

The case was handled by a special prosecutor, Dave Daggett, due to Queen Anne’s County State’s Attorney Lance Richardson actually knowing both the family of the victim and family of the Defendant.  Mr. Richardson stated “I asked Dave to handle this case since I knew both families involved in this case.  It was in the interest of justice to have a neutral, independent, prosecutor handle the case.”

Maryland Transportation Authority Police responded to reports of a motor vehicle collision on the Rt. 50 span of the William Preston Lane Jr. Memorial Bridge (Bay Bridge) at 2:22 am on Saturday, April 2, 2016. The crash involved a 2011 Mazda sedan, driven by Dixon, and a 2014 Freightliner box truck.  The front seat passenger in Dixon’s vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigation revealed that the Mazda had slammed into the rear of the Freightliner. Police immediately suspected alcohol and excessive speed as the reasons for the collision.