A 34-year-old truck driver from Laurel was killed Thursday afternoon after his commercial truck failed to negotiate a curve on Swamp Circle Road in southern Anne Arundel County, struck a series of wooden utility poles and several trees, and he was ejected from the vehicle. Keith Whitley Haines was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to an official Anne Arundel County Police Department press release, officers responded to the collision near Muddy Creek Road in West River. Police say Haines was driving a 1999 Freightliner FL70 when he lost control around a curve, left the right edge of the roadway, hit the utility poles, and struck several trees before being ejected. As WBAL-TV reported, Anne Arundel County Fire Department personnel pronounced Haines dead at the scene.
The Freightliner FL70 was the commercial truck involved in the crash. The crash occurred on a curve.
Fatal Crash Inquiry Continues
The fatal crash inquiry remains under investigation. Whether mechanical failure, speed, a shifting load, or a medical emergency contributed to Haines losing control remains an open question, as does whether he was wearing a seat belt before he was ejected.
Maryland requires drivers to wear seat belts and treats noncompliance as a primary-enforcement traffic offense. The Zero Deaths Maryland source says unbelted occupants face a 30-times higher risk of being ejected in a crash, per Zero Deaths MD.
A Stretch of Road With a Troubled History
Roadway departure and frontal impact together are listed as the cause in about 47% of Maryland fatalities, according to Miller & Zois. Traffic fatalities remain a statewide concern, and Anne Arundel County ranks third or fourth among Maryland jurisdictions for annual road deaths, according to the same source.
A report mentions three people transported after a head-on crash. The corridor has also seen reports of motorcycle crashes. In May 2019, a 22-year-old Churchton woman was killed on Muddy Creek Road near Swamp Circle Road in a head-on crash.
Hoodline previously covered a fatal West River tree crash from October 2025, in which two 90-year-old Annapolis residents died after their car left Muddy Creek Road at Sudley Road and struck a tree. It is not yet known whether Anne Arundel County or state transportation officials plan any curve-warning signage or guardrail upgrades along Swamp Circle and Muddy Creek roads following Thursday's crash.
