From the AFSL Vault: AFSL Involvement in the Bay Bridge Crash of 2009

In 2009, AFSL represented the family of John R. Short, Sr. whose tractor trailer was struck and forced off the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The accident resulted in Mr. Short drowning in the waters below.  With the help of AFSL, the Short family filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court for Queen Anne’s County against Candy Lynn Baldwin and the Maryland Transportation Authority (MTA) to establish the responsibility of the MTA for failures in the maintenance of the Bay Bridge that would allow a vehicle to breach the Jersey wall and plummet to the waters of the Chesapeake Bay.  Ms. Baldwin was the 19-year-old who killed Mr. Short after a night of drinking at a Club in Baltimore on August 10, 2008. Both the MTA and Ms. Baldwin were defendants in this unique case.  Regrettably, Ms. Baldwin’s blood-alcohol content was not tested until 6.5 hours after the crash at which time it confirmed that she had been drinking prior to the crash but at the time of the testing she was no longer intoxicated.  Consequently, no criminal charges for John Short’s death were ever filed.  AFSL’s experts however were able to establish that Candy Baldwin was intoxicated at the time of the crash.  The family sought answers and came to AFSL to prove that Ms. Baldwin’s drinking was the cause of death of their beloved husband and father. With the assistance of AFSL, the Short family was able to fight for justice against the MTA and Ms. Baldwin.

These videos display the sequence of events that played out during the lawsuit against Candy Lynn Baldwin and the MTA. AFSL partner Keith Franz speaks on behalf of the victim’s family in the following videos.