JESSUP, MD – State investigators have identified the man who died in a fatal crash in Jessup after a stolen-vehicle-style chain of events that began with a patrol car being struck and ended with a wreck into a retaining wall.
Anthony Bowers Jr., 20, of Baltimore, died early Sunday morning, according to the Maryland Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division. Howard County police said the crash began when a 2018 Infiniti Q60 hit a patrol car with an officer inside and then fled the scene.
Police said the officer pursued the Infiniti before it crashed about a mile away. Two other people in the car were taken to Shock Trauma and were listed in stable condition.
How the crash unfolded on Montevideo Road
Howard County police said the first collision happened in the 7100 block of Montevideo Road in Jessup. The Infiniti struck the patrol car while an officer was inside, then drove off, setting off the pursuit that followed.
After the car fled, police said it traveled roughly a mile before crashing into a retaining wall. That second impact proved fatal for Bowers. Investigators have not said what led to the initial contact between the Infiniti and the marked police vehicle.
The sequence of events put the crash in a busy corridor near Montevideo Road, but officials have released only the basic facts so far. The investigation remains open.
Maryland Attorney General investigators identify the victim
The Maryland Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division named Bowers as the person who died in the crash. The division handles certain investigations involving police-involved incidents in the state.
Bowers was identified Wednesday, several days after the Sunday crash. Officials have not released additional details about why he was in Jessup or where the other occupants in the vehicle were headed.
The identification gives a name to a case that had already drawn attention because it involved a hit-and-run of a police car and a resulting pursuit. So far, investigators have focused on confirming the people involved and reconstructing the path of the Infiniti after the initial impact.
Officer Amir Parker was inside the struck patrol car
The Independent Investigations Division also identified the officer who was inside the struck patrol car as PFC Amir Parker, a six-year veteran. Officials did not say Parker was injured in the collision.
Howard County police said the officer was in the vehicle when it was hit on Montevideo Road. After the Infiniti fled, Parker pursued it before the crash into the retaining wall.
That detail helps explain why the case drew a formal state-level review. Incidents involving an officer and a fleeing vehicle are routinely examined closely when a death results, especially when the crash follows a police pursuit.
Two passengers were taken to Shock Trauma in stable condition
Police said two other people riding in the Infiniti were taken to Shock Trauma after the crash. Both were reported stable, though their names and ages were not released.
Officials have not said whether those passengers were also Baltimore residents or how they were connected to Bowers. They also have not described the extent of the damage to the Infiniti beyond saying it crashed into a retaining wall.
The stable condition of the two passengers stands in contrast to the fatal injuries suffered by Bowers. For now, investigators have not announced whether charges, citations or other findings will follow.
Investigation continues as officials piece together the timeline
Investigators have not said what caused the police car to be struck or whether speed, road conditions or other factors played a role. Those are among the questions that remain unanswered as the case moves forward.
The Attorney General’s office has not announced a timetable for concluding its review. Howard County police continue to work with state investigators as they examine the moments before the collision, the pursuit and the final crash.
For Jessup residents and motorists on Montevideo Road, the case leaves behind a limited but significant timeline: a patrol car was struck, a vehicle fled, a pursuit followed and a 20-year-old Baltimore man died after the Infiniti hit a retaining wall.
