A 72-year-old Forest Hill woman was killed in a three-car collision on the Bel Air Bypass Thursday afternoon, Maryland State Police said Friday.
Catherine Mattheu, 72, of Forest Hill was killed in the accident, which occurred just before 3 p.m. Thursday afternoon at the intersection of the bypass and Route 24.
According to state police, Mattheu was southbound on the bypass in a 2009 Toyota Camry when she swerved to avoid a 2012 Chevrolet Cruze operation by Ryan Tewey of Bel Air, which was stopped in the left turn lane at the intersection with Route 24. Mattheu’s vehicle clipped Tewey’s car and began spinning into the right lane, where it was hit on the driver’s side by 2006 Hyundai Santa Fe driven by Michael Ball of Baltimore. Mattheu’s car left the roadway and overturned.
Mattheu and Ball were taken to the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center; Mattheu was later transported to the University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, where she died from her injuries. The extent of Ball’s injuries was not immediately available.
Mattheu is not believed to have been impaired at the time of the crash, and speed was not a factor in the accident, a state police spokesman said.
My heartfelt sympathy goes out to Catherine’s family and friends at such tragic news. I also hope that the others who were involved on the accident mend physically and emotionally.
I’ve heard a great deal about what should or shouldnt be done, but honestly the one comment Id like to make is that the Bel Air bypass was never built to handle the volume of traffic it currently has. This can only get worse as the population continues to grow with more housing on or near Rt 543. I appreciated reading a recent post about the history of the Bypass. My hope is that our locally elected officials can represent us in Annapolis by bringing back the funds needed to truly fix this road or scrap it and start over. Regardless of driver error, we are losing too many people on this roadway and it is heartbreaking.
Prayers and blessings to Catherine and her family. We have known the family for 35 years as neighbors at Pleasantview Farms in Forest Hill. We were on the by-pass when this tragity occurred, in ithe traffic back-up that occurred that blocked the Southbound lanes because of the accident.for about 2 hours. This event really shocked us. Will pray for them today, Sun. at St Ignatius Church. R.I.P. Cass.
I try to stay off highways and avoid high speed areas. My reflexes are not what they used to be. Good advise if you are too old to drive like a youngen, your ability to see and react is limited.