A woman charged with hitting and killing a WSSC Water employee while he was working in Montgomery County, Maryland, had a blood alcohol content more than twice the legal limit and officers found a half-empty bottle of alcohol in her front passenger seat, police say.
Montgomery County police arrested 35-year-old Dori Campbell on Monday in the Sept. 8 death of Ernest "Ernie" Dyson.
Dyson, 39, was working on a water main break near the intersection of New Hampshire Avenue and Rodney Road in Silver Spring about 4:40 a.m. when police said Campbell hit him with the black 2011 Volkswagen CC she was driving.
Dyson died at the scene of the crash.
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Campbell had a blood alcohol content of 0.19, more than twice the legal limit, and police found a half-empty bottle of alcohol in the front passenger seat of her car, according to police.
Crash investigators also found she was going 50 miles per hour, which is 10 miles over the 40 mph speed limit, police said.
Campbell, of Silver Spring, was charged with negligent manslaughter by a vehicle, negligent homicide by a vehicle while under the influence, driving on a suspended out-of-state license and driving an uninsured vehicle.
Dyson's family said he cared about giving back to his community.
“Anyone that came in contact with Ernie just loved him," his cousin, Alfonso Dyson, said after his death. "Loved his personality. He’d do anything for anyone. He would give of himself in a moment’s notice.”
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WSSC Water said Monday it would pursue legislation in the Maryland General Assembly to enhance work zone safety in honor of Dyson.
“Ernest’s death is a sad reminder of the risks our front-line water heroes face serving our 1.9 million customers," WSSC said in a news release.
Ernie Dyson was the youngest of five children and a loving son, his cousin said.
“One of the things with Ernie is that he never lost sight of his family," Alfonso Dyson said. "That was most important to him.”
“We don’t have our loved one anymore," he said. "He’s gone. He’s gone. And the family has to suffer through this.”
