Virginia man charged with DUI, other charges in death of Martinsburg woman after crash on I-81

A Virginia man has been charged with negligent manslaughter by vehicle in the March death of a West Virginia woman who was a passenger in a car struck in an apparent drunken-driving crash, according to Washington County court records.

Michael Maydian, 27, of Covington, Va., was charged by criminal information on Tuesday with five criminal charges in the death of Alexandra Katelyn Barr, 20, of West Virginia, according to court records. The most severe criminal charge of negligent manslaughter by auto comes with a maximum sentence of up to 10 years in prison and/or a $5,000 fine.

Barr was a backseat passenger in a 2008 Dodge Caliber that collided with a pickup truck on northbound Interstate 81 near Williamsport in the early morning hours of March 6, according to court records.

The initial state police news release, distributed shortly after 6 that morning, states Washington County emergency dispatch received multiple calls about a serious collision near mile marker 2 and that the striking vehicle had fled the scene. The fleeing driver was apprehended shortly later, police said.

The release did not name the drivers and passengers of the vehicles in the crash, but said there were multiple people injured including a 20-year-old woman from West Virginia in the Dodge's backseat who had life-threatening injuries and was taken by ambulance to Meritus Medical Center near Hagerstown.

The initial charges filed that day against Michael Waylon Maydian were several traffic charges including driving or attempting to drive a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol per se, negligent driving, and failure of a driver involved in an accident to render reasonable assistance to an injured person.

With the criminal information filing this week, the case is moved to Washington County Circuit Court with numerous traffic offenses and additional criminal charges related to Barr's death. The criminal information filing includes 17 charges against Maydian, including driving or attempting to drive while under the influence of alcohol.

Maydian was being held Thursday without bond at the Washington County Detention Center.

The crash remains under investigation, according to an email from Master Trooper Jeremy Hite, a reconstruction investigator with Maryland State Police. No one else had been charged in the crash as of Thursday, he wrote.

Remembering Katie

Breanna Kesecker, 21, said Thursday that she and Barr, known as "Katie," had known each other since they were 13 years old, and were roommates in the Martinsburg, W.Va., area.

Barr was "definitely my best friend," Kesecker said.

"We love, we miss her so much," Kesecker said on behalf of Katie's friends and family.

Barr's sister, Brittany Elizabeth Crouse, said Friday that she wants people to know Katie "was one of the most selfless people that I knew."

While Crouse was the big sister, she said she looked up to Barr.

"She cared a lot about others," Crouse said. "She was the person who would brighten up a room no matter the environment or circumstance."

Barr brought "laughter and lightness" and had a unique sense of humor, Crouse said.

Barr's little brothers are going to miss her, she said.

Other family members could not immediately be reached for comment.

Kesecker said Barr was a server at the Olive Garden in Martinsburg, wanted to be a makeup artist or EMT, and was planning to move to Florida next year. Barr was about a month shy of her 21st birthday at the time of the crash.

The two friends graduated from Hedgesville High School in 2019, Kesecker said.

Barr "loved being a cheerleader at Hedgesville High School, loved helping others" and knew it was important to create fun memories and take photos with loved ones, according to her obituary on The Journal of Martinsburg's website.

Barr "selected to be an organ donor, so she is continuing to help others," the obituary states.

The obituary states donations can be made to a scholarship fund, through City National Banks in Martinsburg, WV Hero Account under Barry and Deborah Barr, in memory of Katie Barr and "to help others also with accident expenses." 

A GoFundMe effort is raising money to help the family with memorial expenses.

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Details of the crash

Maryland State Police were contacted by the Washington County dispatch center around 3 a.m. on March 6, a Sunday, regarding multiple calls for a serious collision near mile marker 2 on northbound I-81, according to charging documents filed in Washington County District Court.

A Washington County Sheriff's deputy arrived first and told state police a white 2017 Dodge Ram with a specific Virginia plate was identified as the striking vehicle and had driven off, charging documents state. The deputy also told state police the incident was a "trauma code collision" with multiple people injured.

Responding state police saw a white Ram truck matching the description of the striking vehicle heading north on I-81 at about 5 mph, charging documents state. A state police trooper stopped the pickup on the ramp from northbound I-81 to westbound Interstate 70. The Ram had heavy front-end damage and there were two males inside, court records state.

The driver, Maydian, told the trooper, "I'm drunk" and that the "other vehicle brake checked him," court records state.

The trooper wrote in charging documents that Maydian had bloodshot, glassy eyes and was stumbling and swaying back and forth while standing. The trooper also wrote that he smelled a strong odor of alcoholic beverage on Maydian's breath.

Maydian refused to do a series of Standardized Field Sobriety Tests, allegedly telling the trooper "there was no point to do it" and that "he knew he was drunk," court records state. After first refusing to do an alcohol concentration test at the police barrack, Maydian later agreed to one that was taken at 4:04 a.m.

After taking a breath-alcohol test, Maydian had an alcohol concentration of 0.17, court records state.

Under Maryland transportation law, a person with an alcohol concentration of 0.08 or more is considered to be under the influence of alcohol per se, according to Westlaw online.

Others injured

A state trooper arriving at the crash scene found the three occupants of the red Dodge car injured.

The car was driven by Barr's sister, Crouse, who was listed as a McConnellsburg, Pa., resident who was 24 years old at the time of the crash, according to court documents and an email from Hite.

Crouse said Friday she actually was living in Spring Mills, W.Va.

The front passenger was Tyler Vincent Swisher, 32, of McConnellsburg, according to charging documents and Hite's email. Swisher suffered severe back injuries, according to Hite. He was flown to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland in Baltimore in serious condition while Crouse was taken via ambulance to Meritus Medical Center, according to charging documents.

The charging documents did not name the passenger in the Ram pickup.

Correction: This story was updated at 2:45 p.m. May 13, 2022, to correct the relationship between Crouse and Katie Barr. The Herald-Mail apologizes for the mistake.