LEONARDTOWN, MD (March 16, 2026) - On Sunday, March 15, at 4:35 p.m., deputies from the St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office responded to the intersection of Three Notch Road and Hollywood Road for a motor vehicle collision.
The investigation determined that a 2016 GMC Sierra, operated by Austin Schultz of Leonardtown, was making a left turn from northbound Three Notch Road onto Hollywood Road at the traffic signal when a 2013 Toyota Camry, operated by 42-year-old Keith Mersing II of Charlotte Hall and traveling south on Three Notch Road, ran the red light. The Camry was reportedly using the shoulder to bypass vehicles stopped at the intersection when it struck the GMC pickup.
Mersing and the front-seat passenger of his vehicle, 35-year-old Troy Coley of New Carrollton, were transported to a local hospital, where both succumbed to injuries sustained during the collision. The operator of the GMC pickup and a juvenile passenger were transported to a local hospital with minor injuries.
Currently, it appears that excessive speed and reckless driving are contributing factors in the collision.
Sheriff Steve Hall said, “Reckless and careless driving costs too many lives, and this crash also very nearly cost the lives of one of our deputies and a member of his family. When you get behind the wheel, you are entering into a social contract; you take on a responsibility to everyone else on the road. This crash is a sobering reminder that the choices drivers make in a matter of seconds can have life-altering consequences for many; our prayers are with the families of those who died.”
The St. Mary’s County Sheriff’s Office Collision Reconstruction Unit has assumed the investigation. Anyone with information about the events leading up to this collision is asked to contact Sergeant Shawn Shelko at 301-475-4200, ext. 8147, or by email at shawn.shelko@stmaryscountymd.gov.
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