Widower working to toughen Maryland bike lane laws after River Road tragedy

Dan Langenkamp lost his wife, Sarah, in a bike crash on River Road in Montgomery County in 2022. The diplomat and mother of two young boys was riding in a bike lane when a driver hit and killed her.

“It’s like being a single parent, with a big layer of sadness over the household,” Langenkamp said.

When the driver only faced traffic citations and walked away with a $2,000 fine, Langenkamp was devastated once again.

“It felt like an insult. It felt like this society doesn’t care about death,” he said.

He also was determined to help prevent another tragedy.

Once the case was over, Langenkamp worked with the state’s attorney and Maryland lawmakers to figure out how to make drivers who hit people in bike lanes more accountable.

They came up with a proposed law in Sarah’s name: the Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Act. The law would increase penalties for drivers who contribute to a crash involving a cyclist or scooter operator in a bike lane or on the shoulder. Violators would face up to two months in jail and/or a fine of up to $2,000.

The legislation was heard in committees in Annapolis on Thursday.

If it had been on the books when Sarah Langenkamp was killed, the driver might have gone to jail.

“Having this law in place sends a signal to everybody that you need to be careful around these spaces,” Langenkamp said. “You can’t just careen your car through them without looking.”

Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy supports the bill and says there are similar laws and penalties on the books involving crashes in crosswalks, so, it aims to close a gap in the law.

“It’s bringing consistency,” he said. “The same way we protect people in a crosswalk, we’re going to protect bicyclists when they’re in their designated space. It just makes common sense.”

Langenkamp also is supporting federal legislation that would enable states to get more federal dollars to build infrastructure to improve safety for pedestrians and cyclists.