Crime & Safety

Street Man Killed After Car Crashes into Tree: Harford Sheriff

The 22-year-old was a passenger, the Harford County Sheriff's Office said.

A man died following a single-vehicle crash in Whiteford Monday night, according to the Harford County Sheriff's Office.

At 9:18 p.m. on Monday, deputies responded to the 4600 block of Clermont Mill Road and found one man trapped inside a 2004 Nissan Sentra and another man outside the vehicle, the statement said.

Police identified the man outside the vehicle as the driver, Nicholas Paul Bellinger, 21, of the 2300 block of Whiteford Road in Whiteford.

Find out what's happening in Bel Airwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

His passenger—Joseph Paul Giannasca, 22, of the 1000 block of Woodshire Lane in Street—was trapped after the car hit a tree off Clermont Mill Road, the Harford County Sheriff's Office reported in a statement.

First responders from Norrisville and Jarrettsville treated Giannasca and Bellinger at the scene before they were taken to area hospitals, according to the report.

Find out what's happening in Bel Airwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Giannasca was taken by ambulance to York Hospital in Pennsylvania, where he later died of his injuries, the report said. According to the sheriff's office, the weather did not permit for a helicopter.

Bellinger was taken to Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, the report stated.

The Harford County Sheriff's Office said it appeared that the vehicle had been traveling southbound on Clermont Mill Road when it left the roadway and hit a tree. 

The incident remains under investigation, and investigators reconstructed the scene to understand what happened, according to the report.

No charges have been filed as of Tuesday morning, the Harford County Sheriff's Office said.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

To request removal of your name from an arrest report, submit these required items to arrestreports@patch.com.