Delaware man convicted in drunk driving crash

SALISBURY, Md. — A Delaware man was convicted Tuesday of multiple manslaughter and DUI charges in connection with a 2024 wrong-way crash that killed a young family of three on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Jay Richard Bynum, 61, of Seaford, Delaware, was found guilty by a Wicomico County jury of three counts each of grossly negligent manslaughter by motor vehicle, criminally negligent manslaughter by vehicle, and homicide by vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, among other charges. The verdict followed a three-day trial before Circuit Court Judge Matthew A. Maciarello.

Sentencing was postponed pending a pre-sentence investigation. Bynum remains in custody.

The charges stem from a May 19, 2024, crash just before 3 a.m., when Bynum drove his Dodge Durango northbound in the southbound lanes of U.S. Route 13 for nearly six miles before colliding head-on with a Subaru Impreza. The crash killed 20-year-old Dean Alexander Dennison, 19-year-old Sierra Rain Merchant, and their 1-year-old son, Grayson Dennison, all from upstate New York.

Authorities said Bynum’s blood alcohol content was more than 1.5 times the legal limit.

“This is a tragic situation which resulted from Bynum’s criminal decision to drive while he was under the influence of alcohol,” Wicomico County State’s Attorney Jamie Dykes said in a statement. “He endangered countless citizens of Wicomico and Somerset County and ultimately took the lives of an entire family.”

Dykes praised the Maryland State Police for their investigation, along with members of local fire departments and law enforcement officers who responded to the crash. She also commended prosecutors Lauren Bourdon and Jeffrey Hysan, Jr. for their work on the case.