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Berlynn Michele Matthews

Age : 21

Gender : Female

Race : White

Date : 05/02/2021

Location : North Point Boulevard and Norris Lane

City : Dundalk

County : Baltimore

State : Maryland

Agency : Baltimore County Police Department

Officer(s) :Off-duty Officer William Collazo-Brown

Cause of Death : Vehicle

Event : Bystander killed by off-duty police officer driving under the influence

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

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REASON FOR POLICE DRIVING: Off duty — returning from drinking at motorcycle club
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NARRATIVE:
On 05/02/2021 shortly after 2:00 a.m., Berlynn Michele Matthews, 21, was driving on North Point Boulevard with two friends when she encountered 34-year-old Joshua Day lying injured in the roadway. Day had just been struck by a Subaru while crossing the road. Matthews swerved to avoid him, pulled onto the shoulder with her hazard lights on and immediately got out to help, telling one of her passengers to call 911.
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While Matthews was standing near Day, off-duty Baltimore County Police Officer William Collazo-Brown, 24, approached southbound on a Kawasaki Vulcan motorcycle after spending the night drinking at an Essex motorcycle club. Prosecutors later established that Collazo-Brown was under the influence of alcohol and speeding when he struck Matthews and also ran over Day. Both died at the scene. Collazo-Brown suffered minor injuries and declined medical treatment.
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Matthews' decision to stop was consistent with how friends remembered her. A friend told reporters that helping other people was characteristic of her. She was the daughter of David and Dawn Matthews and had a brother and sister. A fundraiser established for her funeral described her as having died while trying to save another person's life and raised more than $18,000.
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Police arrested Collazo-Brown and initially charged him with DUI-related offenses. His police powers were immediately suspended, and within days the Baltimore County Police Department announced that he was no longer employed by the department. Collazo-Brown had joined Baltimore County police in June 2019.
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The criminal case went to a three-day bench trial in Baltimore County Circuit Court in March 2023. Judge Michael Barranco found Collazo-Brown guilty on 13 of 16 counts, including two counts of criminally negligent manslaughter, driving under the influence, homicide by motor vehicle and negligent operation of a vehicle while under the influence. He was acquitted of the more serious negligent vehicular manslaughter counts requiring proof of gross negligence.
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On 07/07/2023, Barranco sentenced Collazo-Brown to five years incarceration with all but 18 months suspended, followed by three years of probation, with the first 18 months of probation under home detention.
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Berlynn's family publicly condemned the sentence as too lenient. Her father, David Matthews, said the family was devastated that Collazo-Brown would serve only 18 months for two deaths and emphasized that, as a police officer, Collazo-Brown had been trained to enforce the same impaired-driving laws he violated. Matthews and other family members addressed the court at sentencing.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND:
William Collazo-Brown joined the Baltimore County Police Department in June 2019. He was off duty when he killed Matthews and struck Day while driving under the influence. His police powers were suspended immediately after his arrest, and the department separated him from employment within days. His defense attorney later described his prior record as unblemished.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.tributearchive.com/obituaries/20989239/Joshua-John-Day/
https://patch.com/maryland/dundalk/duty-officer-faces-dui-charges-after-hitting-people-police
https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/2-killed-in-dundalk-pedestrian-crash-off-duty-police-officer-charged-with-dui/
https://demo.cms.oovvuu.com/2023/07/18/bs-md-co-william-collazo-brown-sentencing-20230718-rzxhw4fvtnb55hksb5b2r6qkmu-story-html/
https://accidentdatacenter.com/us/maryland/baltimore-md/dundalk/21/05/02/joshua-day-34-and-berlynn-matthews-21-both-dead-after-car-strikes-day-matthews-offers-aid-and-both
https://www.scottshellenberger.com/post/off-duty-baltimore-county-police-officer-guilty-of-criminally-negligent-manslaughter-in-deaths
https://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/officer-fired-from-baltimore-co-police-after-allegedly-striking-killing-2-pedestrians
https://www.wmar2news.com/news/local-news/off-duty-police-officer-charged-in-double-fatal-pedestrian-crash