State Police Maryland State Police Continue Fatal Collision Investigation In Prince George’s County

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(Laurel, MD) On 12/7/19 shortly after midnight, the Maryland State Police, College Park Barrack received a 911 call reference a collision involving two pedestrians struck on northbound US-1 (Baltimore Ave.) just north of Mulberry St, Laurel, Prince George’s County, MD.

The two pedestrians struck were identified as Daniel Benzinger, 26 of Laurel, MD and Kathryn Lea, 27 of Laurel, MD. The Prince George’s County Fire Department provided aid to the pedestrians and both were transported to Laurel Regional Hospital. Benziger was pronounced deceased at the hospital. Lea sustained minor injuries and was released from the hospital.

Primary investigation revealed the driver of a Hyundai passenger vehicle, identified as Garcia Chaney, 21 of Laurel, MD was traveling north on Baltimore Ave. in the right lane when his vehicle struck the two pedestrians who were in the roadway and not in a crosswalk. Chaney remained on the scene and cooperated with the investigation. Chaney did not appear to be under influence of any substance at the time of this collision.

A Maryland State Police, Accident Reconstructionist responded and handled the investigation. Northbound US-1 was closed for approximately three hours. The State Highway Administration handled the lane closure.

Anyone with information regarding this collision is asked to contact the Maryland State Police, College Park Barrack. The investigation is continuing.

###CONTACT: D/Sgt. Pietanza, Maryland State Police, College Park Barrack, (301)345-3101

Disclaimer: In the U.S.A., all persons accused of a crime by the State are presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. See: https://so.md/presumed-innocence. Additionally, all of the information provided above is solely from the perspective of the respective law enforcement agency and does not provide any direct input from the accused or persons otherwise mentioned. You can find additional information about the case by searching the Maryland Judiciary Case Search Database using the accused's name and date of birth. The database is online at https://so.md/mdcasesearch . Persons named who have been found innocent or not guilty of all charges in the respective case, and/or have had the case ordered expunged by the court can have their name, age, and city redacted by following the process defined at https://so.md/expungeme.