A 30-year-old Millersville man is dead after his motorcycle collided with a Honda SUV at the intersection of St. Leonard Road and Route 4 in St. Leonard on Sunday afternoon. AJ Travis Watson was pronounced dead at CalvertHealth Medical Center after deputies and emergency crews worked to save him at the scene. The driver of the SUV, 64-year-old Carole Anne Hamel of Lusby, was not injured.
According to TheBayNet, deputies from the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Bureau responded to the intersection at approximately 3:23 p.m. Sunday. Watson’s motorcycle was traveling northbound on Route 4 when it collided with the Honda SUV Hamel was driving, the outlet reported. Deputies and EMS personnel reached the scene and immediately began rendering life-saving measures, but Watson was pronounced deceased upon arrival at the hospital.
Hamel walked away from the crash without injury, per the same report. The Calvert County Sheriff’s Office Crash Reconstruction Team responded to assist investigators piecing together how the two vehicles came together on the roadway.
Cause Still Unclear, No Charges Announced
Investigators had not said what caused the collision or how the vehicles collided, and no charges have been announced, according to the Southern Maryland Chronicle. The sheriff’s office said several witnesses were present and had already provided information, but the investigation remains ongoing. As first reported by SoMdNews.com, anyone who witnessed the crash or the events leading up to it is asked to contact Deputy Samuel Grierson at [email protected], and anonymous tips can be submitted by emailing [email protected] or through the sheriff’s office app.
A Pattern of Fatal Crashes on Calvert County Roads
Watson’s death is among several reported motorcycle fatalities in the county. In July 2024, a 36-year-old Lusby man, Paul O’Neal, died after his motorcycle collided with a Dodge 3500 pickup truck, with the sheriff’s office saying at the time that O’Neal was allegedly speeding and hit the back of the truck, according to DC News Now. The Southern Maryland Chronicle has also previously reported motorcycle deaths in St. Leonard in July 2022 and in 2019; the 2019 crash occurred on Ben Creek Road near Williams Wharf Road.
The losses fit into a broader, if improving, statewide trend. Maryland recorded 48 motorcyclist deaths in 2025, down sharply from 90 in 2024, the Chronicle reported. But preliminary Maryland Department of Transportation figures already showed 49 motorcyclist deaths by mid-August of this year, suggesting 2026's toll could again climb higher. State transportation data cited separately shows an average of 73 motorcycle riders and passengers killed and nearly 1,046 injured in Maryland traffic crashes each year.
For now, the circumstances that led to Sunday’s collision remain under investigation, and Calvert County authorities have given no timeline for when that work might be complete.
