On-the-job accident or homicide?

The Baltimore Sun

Joseph Miranda died a year ago next week, his head and neck crushed by a construction vehicle at his job at a Carroll County landscaping company.

Five months ago, a state medical examiner urged that the case be further investigated, writing, "There is a strong possibility of a homicide."

Today, however, authorities plan to meet with Adrienne Miranda to explain why they believe her 19-year-old son's death was an accident. That conclusion is not likely to satisfy the grieving mother, who says she is pained by what she sees as inconsistencies in witnesses' accounts of the incident.

"We're approaching a year that our family still has no answers -- no answers to the question of how my son was killed," said Adrienne Miranda. "He was a healthy, young, strong, vibrant young man with his whole life ahead of him."

State Sen. James Brochin said that while he has taken no position on the matter, he arranged today's meeting because Adrienne Miranda "has an absolute right to answers to the questions that she's asking."

The Lutherville woman last saw her son the morning of July 20, 2006, as he headed to his job as a foreman at Outside Unlimited Inc. in Hampstead. He was a year out of Towson High School, where he competed on the wrestling team.

As he walked out the door of his mother's house, he told her, "I love you," she recalled.

About 10:45 that night, Miranda got a call from Joseph's father, who lives in Harford County.

"Our beautiful baby is gone," she recalled him saying. He explained that Joseph had been run over by a Bobcat, an earth-moving vehicle often used for loading materials onto a truck.

"I just screamed, and the tears just flooded my face," Adrienne Miranda recalled. "I said, 'What do you mean? How could this be?'"

Investigators determined that Joseph had approached two laborers who were using the Bobcat to load soil onto a truck. Joseph told a spotter outside the vehicle that he needed to use the machine, said Detective Sgt. Charles Moore of the state police Westminster barracks.

After the spotter told him to wait until they were finished, Joseph tried to jump onto the vehicle but slipped as he stepped on a tire, Moore said. The driver did not see Joseph and ran him over, Moore said.

In a February autopsy report, Dr. Zabiullah Ali, an assistant state medical examiner, wrote that he initially classified the death as an accident.

But "additional information," including detailed scene photos and witness statements, revealed "inconsistencies," Ali wrote.

He noted that track marks showed the vehicle had moved backward only, even though, he said, the spotter told authorities that the vehicle had moved forward. He also wrote that the positioning of Joseph's body was not consistent with where a witness said Joseph had come into contact with the vehicle.

"Based on the inconsistencies mentioned above, there is a strong possibility of a homicide," Ali wrote. He said the manner of death would be classified as "undetermined" until more investigations were done and the inconsistencies were resolved.

Carroll County Deputy State's Attorney David P. Daggett, who said he could not recall any other instances of a medical examiner requesting further investigation of a death, said investigators have taken a closer look at the case and have found no evidence of a crime.

"They investigated it, and they believe that while it's a tragic accident, they believe it to be an accident and nothing more," Daggett said.

Moore said the inconsistencies in the witness accounts were not significant or out of the ordinary.

"Sometimes things are seen by people at different perspectives," Moore said. "You've got things going on, you've got trauma, you've got shock."

He added that "things become distorted over time."

A lawyer for Outside Unlimited said company officials have co- operated with investigators and believe that the death was an accident.

"We feel very sorry for the Mirandas," said the lawyer, David Irwin.

An official with Maryland Occupational Safety and Health said an agency investigation found no violations.

Adrienne Miranda said she hired an expert at reconstructing industrial accidents to review the case, and his findings support her doubts about the authorities' account of the incident. She said she still suspects her son's death was connected to an argument over using the Bobcat.

She still finds it hard to talk about her son without breaking into tears, recalling his love of surfing and his ability to connect with young children.

"When he walked into a room, he was like a ray of sunshine," she said. "He just brought joy and love and smiles to everyone.

"I need answers, and I deserve answers," she added, "as to what happened to our beautiful son."

josh.mitchell@baltsun.com

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