A 59-year-old parishioner of Holy Trinity in Glen Burnie was killed in a hit-and-run traffic crash as she was preparing to cross the street to attend the 7 p.m. Mass Aug. 22 at her parish.
According to an Aug. 23 Anne Arundel County police statement, Mary Bernice Collins was struck by a minivan traveling north on Baltimore Annapolis Boulevard after the driver lost control of his 1999 Dodge Caravan and jumped the sidewalk curb. Collins was rushed to Baltimore Washington Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead as a result of her injuries.
The driver did not stop at the scene. Police detained Matthew Evan Norwood, a 26-year-old Linthicum resident, who is facing possible charges.
Father J. Bruce Jarboe, pastor of Holy Trinity, said parishioners paused for a moment of silent prayer for the crash victim and remembered her in the prayer of the faithful during the Mass she was planning to attend.
“We didn’t know who it was at that time,” he said.
Parishioners were “very surprised” and “very sad” to learn later that the victim was a fellow parishioner, the pastor said.
“It’s a loss to our parish community,” Father Jarboe said. “It’s a terrible thing to happen at any time, but there’s a special sadness because she was coming to participate in our worship life.”
Father Jarboe has spoken with Collins’ husband, Donald, and was planning to meet with him Aug. 25. Collins was to be remembered in the prayers of the faithful at each daily Mass the week following the accident. Funeral arrangements were pending as The Catholic Review went to press.