A New Windsor man has been charged by Westminster police with causing a five-vehicle collision when his tractor-trailer ran over a compact convertible and trapped two people inside on Route 140 in November.
James Louis Knight, 38, of the 3000 block of Sams Creek Road was charged with three traffic violations and six counts of violating motor carrier safety laws involving allegedly defective equipment on his rig.
The traffic charges include reckless driving, negligent driving and failure to control speed to avoid an accident. The charges were served on Mr. Knight Sunday, city police said yesterday.
Three people -- a 21-year-old pregnant woman, Patricia Lewis, and 7-month-old Vanessa Magruder, both of Westminster, and Ricky McNeeley, 35, of Baltimore -- were flown to trauma centers in Baltimore for treatment of the injuries they suffered in the 12:15 p.m. crash Nov. 3.
The woman and infant were trapped inside a Geo Metro convertible after the tractor-trailer slammed into the rear of the small compact car and ran on top of it.
The impact pushed the Geo into the rear of a heavy-duty pickup truck, overturning the truck on another automobile, which in turn struck another pickup truck, police said.
Witnesses said they ran to the crash and saw the woman, who was driving the Geo, then heard the infant crying. They found the infant under the heavy tractor in a child safety seat. Both victims were conscious, the witnesses said.
Rescue squads from Westminster, Reese and Manchester fire stations and the Reisterstown station in Baltimore County worked for about an hour to lift the tractor-trailer rig and remove the victims from the Geo, which was compressed to about 6 feet long and 3 feet high in the crash.
Carroll County medical personnel said later that Ms. Lewis miscarried.