On June 30, 2026, Deon Dandrade, aged 23, of Dover, Delaware, entered a guilty plea in the Queen Anne’s County Circuit Court to Negligent Manslaughter by Automobile, a felony, and was sentenced to 10 years to the Division of Corrections, five years to serve and five years of the sentence suspended. He was given 166 days credit for time he served at the Queen Anne’s County Detention Center while awaiting the trial date following his arrest in January 2026.  This felony offense was the most serious charge that Mr. Dandrade was charged with and the maximum penalty for the offense was ten years of incarceration and a $5,000.00 Fine.  Dandrade was also sentenced to five years of supervised probation, ordered to have a mental health evaluation, complete 50 hours of community service, a one thousand dollar fine, and he was ordered not to operate a motor vehicle for one year upon his release from prison.  The case was prosecuted by Lance G. Richardson, State’s Attorney for Queen Anne’s County.  The sentence fell within the recommended sentence range as calculated by the Maryland Sentencing Guidelines, which recommended a sentence ranging from one year of active incarceration to six years.  Sentencing guidelines are not mandatory or binding upon a judge but following them is strongly encouraged by the legislature to ensure consistency in sentencing throughout the State of Maryland.  State’s Attorney Richardson recommended six years to serve which was the maximum sentence recommended by the Guidelines.

Mr. Dandrade’s conviction was based upon his actions on July 22, 2025, at approximately 9:00 am when he was operating a Mazda Miata passenger vehicle at an extremely high rate of speed, estimated to be between 121 mph and 124 mph, on Southbound Maryland Rt 301 at the intersection of Maryland Route 405.  Mr. Dandrade’s vehicle struck a Kia Forte passenger vehicle operated by Mickie Lynn Mowbray, of Queen Anne’s County, who was killed as a result of multiple injuries sustained from the catastrophic collision.  The Maryland State Police Crash Team investigated the fatal accident and as part of the investigation obtained a search warrant for the data from Mr. Dandrade’s vehicle. This data enabled investigators to calculate Dandrade’s vehicle speed to be in excess of 120 mph, with no evidence of braking before the fatal collision.  Mr. Dandrade was an active duty enlisted airman in the U.S. Air Force at the time of the fatal collision.

Dandrade expressed remorse and apologized to the family of Mowbray at his sentencing. Mr. Richardson also thanked and praised the excellent investigation conducted by the Maryland State Police and the lead accident reconstruction expert Sergeant Charles Gore.  Neither alcohol nor drugs were a factor in the collision.  Richardson said that although Mr. Dandrade had no prior criminal, or motor vehicle, record that this tragedy was completely preventable and senseless and he had to hold Mr. Dandrade accountable for his grossly negligent conduct by recommending the maximum sentence recommended pursuant to the Maryland Sentencing Guidelines.