SEVERN, Md. (AP) - A Maryland man was jailed without bond on a manslaughter charge after allegedly chasing a hit-and-run driver at illegally high speeds until the driver crashed and died.
Salah Mamache, 31, pursued a pickup truck driven by Mark A. Wieland, 43, through Severn on Tuesday, racing past a police vehicle and ignoring the trooper’s lights and sirens, Maryland State Police said.
The truck struck another vehicle at an intersection, crossed over a median, veered into oncoming traffic and eventually hit a utility pole and overturned, the agency said. Wieland died that night from his injuries.
Mamache told troopers that Wieland’s truck had first hit his car and fled, so he chased him down to get the tag number. State police spokesman Greg Shipley acknowledged that it’s illegal for a driver to leave the scene of a crash, but emphasized that Mamache’s actions also were against the law.
“That does not give you the authority to violate traffic laws and conduct pursuit,” Shipley said.
The crash on Tuesday wasn’t the first time Wieland failed to stop after a hitting another car, court records showed. In 2011, he was convicted of a similar violation, in addition to a lengthy record of traffic citations and convictions, The Capital Gazette reported.
Mamache was charged with negligent manslaughter by automobile and related traffic violations, according to online court records. He also faces fines of at least $740. Court records did not list a defense attorney.
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