Advertisement Woman gets $500 fine in fatal Gambrills crash State's attorney: Witness' 'texting while driving' statement didn't match evidence Share Shares Copy Link Copy

A 21-year-old Anne Arundel County woman will face only a fine in connection with a fatal crash last year that police said involved texting while driving. While the victim's family said it's a travesty, the attorney for the woman involved said it was just a tragic accident.Mobile users, tap here for videoIn March 2013, police said Elizabeth Meyers, of Severn, was texting behind the wheel along Route 3 in Gambrills when she hit and killed Jonathan Roberts, 30, of Aylett, Va.Officials said Roberts had the right of way on his motorcycle.At the time of the crash, the State's Attorney's Office said a teenage witness told police he saw Meyers texting on a cellphone as she pulled into the roadway and that cellphone records corroborated that statement.Meyers initially faced six charges: Negligent manslaughter by motor vehicle, criminal negligent manslaughter, reckless driving, negligent driving, failure to yield the right of way and text messaging while driving.But on Monday, the Anne Arundel County State's Attorney's Office said Meyers pleaded guilty to negligent driving in a deal that meant the other charges were dropped. She was issued a $500 fine.The state's attorney said she dropped the stiffer charges when the original statement given by the teenage witness did not match up with other evidence."(Meyers') car had a black box, for lack of a better term -- a crash data recorder -- that showed that the car stopped and waited a number of seconds and then proceeded out across Route 3 at a very slow to moderate rate of speed," said Meyers' defense attorney, Andrew White.The attorney said phone records confirmed that Meyers was texting two minutes before the crash when she was still at work."She texted her mom, saying, 'I don't feel well.' And then she left. Her whole trip from 0 mph at the edge of Route 3 to where she got hit was four seconds long," White said.But the victim's family still called the deal a travesty."They're really horrified that this can happen. That apparently the value of a life in the state of Maryland when it's lost in a motor vehicle collision caused by criminal negligence -- the value of that life is $500 and three points," said Jonathan Halperin, the attorney for Roberts' family.Roberts' family said they believe the texting timeline was tight enough that prosecutors should have let a jury decide whether distracted driving caused the crash."We told them, even if you lose, we will accept that, but try the case. Let people hear it, and let them decide," said Joe Clark, the victim's uncle.Especially, Roberts' attorney said, in light of the fact that the fatal crash didn't mark the first or last time that Meyers had been accused of reckless driving."Less than three weeks ago, she got another reckless driving for going 85 mph in a 55 mph in Anne Arundel County," Halperin said. "How many people does she have to kill before she loses her license? That's the question we'd really like answered.""It's a tragic accident, but it is just that. It's an accident. Frankly, there's negligence going both ways on this. This is absolutely not a criminal case," White countered.The Roberts family is pursuing a civil lawsuit against Meyers and her mother. Their attorney is arguing that Meyers' negligence killed Roberts and that Meyers' mother contributed to the situation by loaning her daughter the car and texting with Meyers when she knew she might be behind the wheel.WBALTV.com editor Katie Lange contributed to this article