WICOMICO CO., M.d. - The Maryland State’s Attorney for Wicomico County announced Jay Richard Bynum, 61, of Seaford, Del., has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for driving under the influence and killing three people in a head-on collision.
On Aug. 14, Bynum received the maximum sentence allowed. He was charged with:
- Three counts of grossly negligent manslaughter by motor vehicle
- Three counts of criminally negligent manslaughter by vehicle
- Three counts of homicide by vehicle while under the influence of alcohol
The State's Attorney's office says Bynum was driving on U.S. Route 13 in Wicomico County when he hit a family of three from upstate New York head-on, killing 20-year-old Dean Alexander Dennison, 19-year-old Sierra Rain Merchant, and their 1-year-old son, Grayson Dennison, in May 2024.
They say Bynum's blood was tested for alcohol and found to be over one and a half times the legal limit.
"The devastation inflicted upon the victims and their families, witnesses and passersby, the first responder community, and all those connected to this tragedy was entirely avoidable. Bynum's decision to drive impaired has cost so many so much," Wicomico County State's Attorney Jamie Dykes said. "The court's sentence, the maximum permitted by the relevant criminal statutes, is all the solace the criminal justice system can provide. We hope this provides some measure of justice for the victim's families, even though it will not console their indescribable grief."