Driver in deadly OC motorcycle crash identified

OCEAN CITY, Md. – Police say 27-year-old Brian Douglas of Mechanicsville is the driver who lost his life in a deadly motorcycle accident in Ocean City on Tuesday.

Just before 10 p.m. on Tuesday, an officer with the Ocean City Police Department tried to pull over Douglas around 45th street on Coastal Highway for a routine traffic stop. Instead of pulling over, police say Douglas sped off.

Jessica Waters, a Public Information Officer for Ocean City said, “At that point, the motorcycle did not stop for our officers and our officers did not continue to pursue the motorcycle.”

Police say Douglas ended up running a red light at the intersection of Coastal Highway and 59th Street and slammed into a Ford that was making a U-turn.

David Shutt, a witness said, “You could still see the pieces I guess of the motorcycle and the car still all over the road.”

Sadly, Douglas did not survive the crash.

George Menikheim said, “It’s too bad, it’s too bad… What can you say, somebody lost their life you know?”

Coastal Highway ended up being closed for about five hours while police investigated.

Shutt said, “It looked like they were still recreating the accident kind of thing there and this was a good two or three hours afterwards.”

While people admitted that the traffic was an inconvenience, they say the true tragedy here was the loss of a young life.

Menikheim said, “You know, it was a little inconvenience but somebody lost their life, and that’s too bad.”

Police say the people who were in the Ford were not hurt in the accident.

As for why the officers didn’t pursue Douglas after he sped off, we’re told it’s because they were only pulling him over for a minor traffic infraction and they felt a pursuit would put other drivers in danger.

Douglas’ body has been sent to the Medical Examiners Office in Baltimore for a full autopsy. The crash remains under investigation.