FedEx Driver Found Not Guilty of Vehicular Homicide in Fatal Beltway Crash

A Baltimore County judge on Tuesday found a FedEx driver not guilty of vehicular manslaughter charges related to an April 15, 2025, fatal Beltway crash near Dundalk.

Delivery driver Marcus Shackelford, 30, was driving a FedEx box truck with a “pancake-flat” tire around 11 p.m. on the inner loop of I-695 when a 2024 Toyota RAV4 slammed into the back of the truck near the North Point Boulevard exit, according to Maryland State Police.

The truck was described in court as “limping along” in the slow lane at five miles per hour with its hazard lights on just before impact.

Christine Lesniewski, 39, of Sparrows Point, was driving behind the FedEx truck and apparently did not see the slow-moving vehicle in time.

Her SUV was traveling at “highway speed” — around 55 miles per hour — when it crashed into the box truck, rupturing the delivery vehicle’s fuel tank and igniting a fire, according to police. Lesniewski was pronounced dead at the scene. Shackelford was not injured.

Shackelford was charged with grossly negligent vehicular manslaughter and other related offenses.

“This is a terrible outcome,” defense attorney Leonard Shapiro said. “But every bad outcome ain’t a crime.”

Shapiro said Lesniewski hit the highly visible FedEx truck on a straight portion of the road and pointed out that every other vehicle on the road that night saw the truck and avoided it.

Judge Evelyn Cusson heard testimony in the case Monday and delivered her verdict Tuesday morning. She found Shackelford not guilty of the most serious manslaughter charges but guilty of several misdemeanors related to the crash, including willfully driving slowly to impede traffic, driving without safe tires, and reckless driving. She fined him $500 and sentenced him to time served. He also will be on one year of unsupervised probation.

On the night of the crash, police said, Shackelford had finished his deliveries for the day, logged off work, and was headed from Parkville back to a FedEx terminal in Sparrows Point when the front left tire went flat.

He pulled over on the left shoulder of I-695 before the Chesaco Avenue exit in the Rosedale area to check the damage. Shackelford then continued driving, straddling the shoulder and the fast lane, according to police.

Video played in court showed cars braking, moving to the right, and changing lanes to avoid the slow-moving truck.

An employee with the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration who was patrolling the area spotted the disabled truck. William Thomas testified that he blocked oncoming traffic to allow Shackelford to move the FedEx truck to the right shoulder.

Thomas, a member of the MDTSHA's Coordinated Highways Action Response Team (CHART), testified that he helped the truck get to a large shoulder in a well-lit area and told Shackelford to call his supervisor to have someone come change the tire.

Shapiro pointed out that Thomas did not specifically tell Shackelford not to drive the truck.

Thomas left and, a few minutes later, heard radio dispatchers sending first responders to a traffic collision not far from where he had just left the FedEx truck.

Officers' body cameras captured Shackelford explaining that he had texted his supervisor for help with the tire but did not get a response. He then got back on the road, intending to drive the remaining six miles to his destination with the flat tire.

“He made the conscious decision to pull back from a place of safety, and as a result of that decision ... Ms. Lesniewski did strike the back of his vehicle and ultimately, as a result, lost her life,” Assistant State’s Attorney Felise Kelly said.

Shackelford did not testify at trial. Before sentencing, he addressed the court.

“I am truly sorry for what happened,” Shackelford said. “If I knew driving with a flat tire would be dangerous like that, I wouldn’t have done it. I am just sorry.”

A crash investigator testified that Lesniewski may have been asleep at the wheel or distracted by her cell phone when she hit the FedEx truck.

Sgt. Daniel Rumaker of the Maryland State Police testified that he found no skid marks before the impact site and that Lesniewski’s cell phone was found melted into the left dashboard area of the vehicle. On further questioning, he conceded that anti-lock brakes are less likely to leave skid marks. He also said the phone’s activity had not been investigated to determine whether Lesniewski was using it at the time of the crash.

Authorities said Shackelford’s driver’s license had expired earlier in the month and that his paperwork incorrectly stated he was driving a different truck. He also was found guilty of falsifying his duty records.

Shapiro told Judge Cusson that Shackelford’s employer knew his license had expired and had instructed him to use another person’s driver’s license number until he could get it renewed.