• 12
  • August
    2010

Last weekend was a deadly one for pedestrians in Maryland. Patricia Mauro-Cillo and John Cillo were killed on Sunday when a woman parking her large sport utility vehicle slammed into them as they crossed the road. 89-year-old Marian Derosa, who had just attended church with the Cillos, was also struck and seriously injured.

Derosa is currently being treated for life-threatening injuries at Baltimore's Shock Trauma Center.

The driver of the vehicle, a 63-year-old woman, claimed that she was simply attempting to park alongside the road and was backing up when her SUV accelerated into the Cillos and Derosa. The driver also smashed into two other vehicles.

She has not been charged for her role in the fatal car accident.

There has been no comment as to whether the driver may have made a mistake or exhibited carelessness in attempting to park her vehicle. Sudden acceleration, while an actuality in some cases, seems to have become the preferred defense for certain drivers at fault in car accidents.

Whether or not that was the case in Maryland, it seems curious that the car would have been moving so fast in reverse that she could not stop it before hitting three people and striking two additional cars.

The Baltimore Sun reported no response from family members of the deceased. The driver's name has not been revealed.

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