The driver of a van that struck and killed a young boy who was walking with his mother and brother Sunday afternoon is facing manslaughter charges, police in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, say.
Michael Blair Gauthier, 37, was driving a 2004 Chevrolet work van westbound on Bay Green Drive in Arnold when the van went off the road and struck the 12-year-old boy who was walking on a sidewalk, police said.
The van then continued off the road and struck a tree.
Medics flew the boy to the Johns Hopkins Children's Center, where he died of his injuries.
Gauthier was taken to a hospital with minor injuries and a toxicology screening is pending results, police said.
Police believe that the cause of the crash was reckless driving and failing to stay in a single lane.
Gauthier was arrested and charged with criminally negligent manslaughter, grossly negligent manslaughter and possession of a controlled substance. Investigators may pursue additional charges pending the toxicology results, police said.
