A 39-year-old Pasadena man died after the scooter he was riding collided with a car turning onto a residential side street in the Orchard Beach area, Anne Arundel County police say. Robert Louis Tuite was riding northbound on Fort Smallwood Road on a 2026 Zhejiang motor scooter when a 2016 Mazda 6 driven by a 17-year-old girl from Glen Burnie turned left toward Hilltop Road, sending the scooter into the passenger side of her car.
According to WBAL-TV, Anne Arundel County police were called to the crash at Fort Smallwood and Hilltop roads around 9:40 a.m. on Monday. Tuite was identified as the man riding the scooter, and police said he died as a result of the crash. The teenage driver of the Mazda was not injured, and the station reports the investigation into the crash continues.
The exact collision mechanics — the scooter striking the passenger side of the turning sedan — were detailed by The BayNet, which placed the crash squarely in the Orchard Beach neighborhood along the Fort Smallwood Road corridor. Anne Arundel County police assigned their Crash Reconstruction Team to lead the investigation, a specialized unit typically brought in to analyze vehicle damage, telemetry and speed factors in serious collisions, according to a report from Patch. That reconstruction work generally precedes any decision by state prosecutors on potential traffic or criminal charges.
Open Questions Around Helmet Use and Possible Charges
Several details remain unresolved as the investigation continues. It is not yet known whether the teen driver will face traffic citations or charges, whether speed or impairment played a role for either vehicle, or whether Tuite was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash. Under Maryland law, all moped and motor scooter operators are required to wear DOT-approved motorcycle helmets and eye protection such as goggles or a face shield, regardless of age, according to the Maryland MVA.
State law also allows motor scooters to operate on public roads with speed limits up to 50 mph, so long as the operator holds a valid driver's license or moped permit and rides as close to the right side of the road as practical, per Portner & Shure. Fort Smallwood Road carries a posted speed limit that falls within that range, and the roadway's design puts scooter and motorcycle riders in regular contact with left-turning traffic crossing into side streets.
A Corridor With a History of Left-Turn Crashes
This is not the first fatal left-turn crash along Fort Smallwood Road. In April 2023, a motorcyclist was killed near Energy Parkway when a northbound SUV turned left across his path, Anne Arundel County police said in a statement reported by CBS News Baltimore at the time. The corridor serves as a major arterial through eastern Anne Arundel County, and the repeated pattern of left-turn right-of-way failures on the same stretch underscores a persistent safety concern for riders on two wheels.
The crash also comes about four weeks after an EF-0 tornado tore through the same neighborhood on July 28, snapping trees along Hilltop Road and crossing Fort Smallwood Road before dissipating, according to a National Weather Service storm survey. That storm downed power lines and tree limbs near the same MD-173 intersection where Tuite was killed, though the dossier does not indicate any lingering connection between the storm damage and Monday's collision.
Statewide Push to Slow Drivers Down
The Maryland Department of Transportation launched its statewide “Slow the Fast Down” campaign in July to combat a summer spike in serious crashes, with state officials pointing to left-turn failures, speeding and driver inattention as leading causes, CBS News Baltimore reported. As of Tuesday, Maryland had recorded 304 traffic fatalities statewide so far this year, according to preliminary data compiled by the Maryland Highway Safety Office through Zero Deaths MD.
Anne Arundel County has ranked fourth among Maryland jurisdictions for traffic fatalities, recording 44 roadway deaths in a single year, according to Maryland Highway Safety Office figures cited by WTOP. For the current federal fiscal year, the state safety office awarded $53,000 in grant funding to the Anne Arundel County Police Department for local traffic enforcement, per Zero Deaths MD records, money intended to support targeted patrols on high-crash corridors like Fort Smallwood Road.
Hoodline has previously covered other fatal crashes handled by the same Anne Arundel County Crash Reconstruction Team, including a late-night Arnold crash in July. The investigation into Tuite's death remains active, and police have not said when it might conclude.
-4.webp?w=160&h=400&fit=crop&crop=edges)
