On June 9, 2007, members of the Calvert County Sheriff�s Office Crash Reconstruction Unit responded to Maryland Route 4 near the intersection of Brick House Road for a serious crash involving a Calvert County Sheriff�s Office Ford Crown Victoria patrol vehicle. The vehicle had been operated by Deputy Johnny Coates, a one year veteran of this office, who was off-duty at the time.

Investigation at the scene revealed that Deputy Coates was traveling northbound along Maryland Route 4 approaching Brick House Road at the time of the accident.  The vehicle traveled onto the shoulder of the roadway and then traveled along the guardrail for approximately 300 feet.  Deputy Coates reacted by jerking the steering-wheel to the left, causing the vehicle to cross the grass median and travel across the southbound lanes of Maryland Route 4.  The vehicle continued into a culvert and became airborne as it exited the culvert.  The vehicle struck a brick pillar and a tree which caused the vehicle to roll over coming to rest on top of the Dunkirk Animal Hospital sign. Deputy Coates was flown from the scene to Baltimore Shock Trauma.

Based upon the roadway evidence it is highly probable that Dep. Coates fell asleep and awoke upon striking the guardrail. He then overcorrected completely losing control of the vehicle resulting in the accident. Based upon the roadway evidence, several calculations were performed to determine the speed of the vehicle prior to entering the grassy median.  The speed of the vehicle at that point was approximately 64 miles per hour. Speed is a contributing factor in this crash.