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Truck Driver Indicted In Fatal Harford County Crash Has Bail Set At $375K

BEL AIR, Md. (WJZ) -- A judge has set the bail for a New Jersey truck driver indicted earlier this week in a fatal March crash in Harford County at $375,000.

The driver, Carloo Watson, turned himself into police Wednesday evening.

Watson, who was driving a ShopRite tractor-trailer, was charged in the March 11 double fatal crash on Route 24 and Ring Factory Road. Seven-year-old Tripp Johnson and local philanthropist and businessman Andrew Klein died in the crash.

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Watson, of Brunswick, New Jersey, turned himself into the state police's Bel Air barrack around 6 p.m. He was indicted Tuesday on eight counts including two counts of gross negligence manslaughter by a motor vehicle, two counts of criminal negligence manslaughter by a motor vehicle and four counts of causing serious injury while using a cell phone.

Carloo Watson
Carloo Watson

The March 11 crash killed two -- Johnson and Klein -- and seriously injured four others, including Tripp's mother Megan. The tractor-trailer slammed into 11 cars.

Andrew Klein
Andrew Klein. Courtesy: Klein family

Klein, of Forest Hill, was the president of the Klein Family-run ShopRite stores in Harford County. But people remembered the father and husband for his local philanthropy.

"He gave from his heart, he didn't have a big ego, he didn't need a lot of recognition but he really wanted to help other people," Andrew's wife Jayne told WJZ in May. "He felt like that was his mission when he was put on Earth, to help other people."

In a statement Tuesday, Jayne said she feels bad for Watson but added nothing will bring her husband back.

"I do think that there needs to be a punishment to prevent something like this from happening to another family," she wrote. "People need to know there will be consequences for using their phone irresponsibly while driving."

WJZ spoke to several of Klein's children back in May.

"He just believed in me more than I believed in myself," Rachel Klein, Andrew Klein's daughter, said. "You know, that's like every kid's dream."

Tripp Johnson
Tripp Johnson was killed in a 12-car crash in Bel Air.

Tripp, a second-grader at William Paca Elementary in Joppa, was remembered for being a nice kid and for his beaming smile.

"He was nice and we always played together," Jabren Green, Johnson's teammate on the Joppatown Seahawks, said.

"He was fun and would always win at hide and go seek," Logan Savage, Johnson's teammate, said. "He was always a nice kid. A really nice kid."

Watson was held at the Harford County Detention Center without bond.

Watson, of Brunswick, New Jersey, could face a total of 30 years in prison and a $40,000 fine if found guilty.

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