HANCOCK, Md. — 11 Investigates has learned that no charges will be filed against Sen. John Fetterman, who was involved in a crash on Interstate 70 near Hancock, Maryland in June.
The senator said he was driving home early Sunday morning with his wife after celebrating their wedding anniversary.
>> Sen. John Fetterman ‘at fault’ for weekend car crash, police report says
Maryland State Police said the case is closed and no charges have been filed.
Police body camera video obtained by 11 Investigates shows the aftermath of the crash.
There’s also video of the Senator who was driving and his wife who was in the SUV at the time.
Days after the crash, 11 investigates spoke exclusively to the garage that towed the vehicles.
“He hit that car so hard it come clear up on top of the SUV. I mean that shows that man hit that woman a heck of a lick,” said Roland Lanehart of Roland’s garage in Hancock.
A police report indicated Fetterman was at fault.
A witness told Police in the report that Fetterman’s “vehicle passed her traveling at a high rate of speed, well over the posted speed limit” just before the crash.
The posted speed limit is 70 mph.
Police have not said how fast they believe Fetterman was driving when he slammed into the rear of the vehicle.
The driver of that car was treated at a local hospital for minor injuries.
Fetterman and his wife were also taken to the hospital just as a precaution.
A spokesperson for Maryland State Police told 11 Investigates that the case is now closed and no charges will be filed.
“Unless the trooper witnessed the crash, evidence of a violation must be established through an investigation. The MDSP [Maryland Department of State Police] allows Troopers to conduct independent investigations and to utilize discretion regarding the issuance of traffic citations,” said MDSP spokesperson Elena Russo.
11 Investigates also spoke with a legal analyst who said he’s not surprised that police opted not to file charges in this case since it did not involve serious bodily injury and there was no indication of any reckless or intentional behavior.
“If it’s reckless and intentional then I can see the discretion of using an investigation, but in this case, it looks as if he and his wife were in the car and there may have been careless conduct and maybe some negligible conduct, which is really best suited for civil courts,” said DiLucente, who said Fetterman is not getting any preferential treatment because he’s a United States Senator.
But some current and retired police officers we spoke with believe a charge of speeding at the very least should have been filed.
“Yeah, I would just check the box and say yeah this is the charge that should be filed because there is no further investigating needed for somebody rear-ending someone,” said retired Pittsburgh Police Officer Tony Moreno, who also acknowledged that more departments are declining to pursue charges in cases similar to this.
Moreno said often times police would let the insurance companies figure it out.
11 Investigates has been unable to track down the driver of the other car so we don’t know if she’s okay with this decision not to file charges.
11 Investigates did reach out to Fetterman’s staff but has not heard back.
Fetterman has called the crash an “unfortunate accident” and he said he’s relieved and grateful no one was seriously hurt.
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