PRINCE FREDERICK, Md. (April 19, 2010)—Gerry Wane Hance, 53, of St. Leonard, died Saturday, April 17, at Calvert Memorial Hospital. Hospital staff and police believe the cause of death was due to internal injuries sustained a few hours earlier in a motorcycle accident. The final cause of death is pending an autopsy.
Mr. Hance was not transported to the hospital directly from the scene of the accident, which police believe occurred earlier that morning at 12:30 a.m. Police say Mr. Hance appeared to be unharmed after the crash and was taken from the scene to his residence by friends. At approximately 6:30 a.m., members of Hance's family found him unresponsive in his bedroom. Mr. Hance was subsequently transported to Calvert Memorial Hospital where he passed.
The Calvert County Sheriff's Office Crash Reconstruction Team (CRT) was subsequently notified by the Office of the Chief of the Medical Examiner (OCME) Forensic Investigator of the death—since the death was believed to be the result of a motor vehicle collision.
The CRT determined Mr. Hance was operating a blue 2006 Harley Davidson Softail motorcycle traveling east on Long Beach Drive in St. Leonard when he lost control of the motorcycle and left the roadway. The motorcycle, with Mr. Hance still on it, struck a tree and came to rest on its left side.
Police believe alcohol may have been a contributing factor in the motorcycle accident.
This is the third motorcycle-related death in southern Maryland since the weather turned warm this year. Two others were injured in a single motorcycle accident in Huntingtown in early April.