Police: Fatal Columbia Gateway Crash May Have Involved Medical Emergency

A Severna Park man was killed after his truck rolled over on Columbia Gateway Drive Saturday in a crash that Howard County police said may have been caused by a medical condition.

Henry Walter Atkins III, 54 of Severna Park, was driving northeast on Columbia Gateway near Robert Fulton Drive at approximately 1:20 p.m. when he lost control of his Ford F-350 pickup truck, which hit an embankment and turned on its side, police reported.

Atkins was taken to Howard County General Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the report.

Preliminary investigation showed the driver suffered a medical emergency before the crash, police said.

Personnel from the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services traveling in the opposite direction had to swerve to avoid being hit by the truck, and reported the driver was slumped over the wheel, according to police.

Neither speed nor alcohol was a factor in the crash, and Atkins was wearing his seatbelt, police said.

According to the report, Columbia Gateway Drive was closed to traffic at Robert Fulton Drive until 3:15 p.m.