MDTA POLICE ANNOUNCE ARREST

CONNECTED TO JANUARY CRASH ON BAY BRIDGE

Suspect Faces DUI and Other Charges

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (Aug. 29, 2024) – A Queen Anne’s County woman faces criminal and traffic charges following a months-long investigation into a January crash on the Bay Bridge in Queen Anne’s County.

On January 27, at 7:46 a.m., MDTA Police Officers assigned to the Bay Bridge Detachment responded to a 23-vehicle crash on the westbound span. One victim was transported to a local hospital with life threatening injuries. Eleven additional patients were also transported to local hospitals.

Responding officers located a blue 2018 Honda Civic that had been involved in the crash, and officers identified 48-year-old Gwendolyn Persina of Chester as the vehicle’s driver. Investigators believe Persina was driving at high speeds when she struck another vehicle and caused the chain-reaction crash.

Following a lengthy investigation by the MDTA Police Collision Reconstruction Unit and consultation with the Queen Anne’s County State’s Attorney’s Office, an arrest warrant was issued charging Persina with driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, driving with a suspended license, causing life threatening injuries by driving a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, and other charges. MDTA Police Officers and deputies with the Queen Anne’s County Office of the Sheriff took Persina into custody yesterday evening and transported her to the Queen Anne’s County Detention Center.

Those charged with a crime are considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

The Maryland Transportation Authority Police, a nationally accredited force, is the eighth-largest law enforcement agency in the State with more than 500 sworn and civilian law enforcement professionals. MDTA Police Officers provide law enforcement services at the MDTA’s highways, bridges, and tunnels, at BWI Thurgood Marshall Airport, and at the Port of Baltimore.