OCEAN CITY, Md. - A man has been sentenced to four decades behind bars after being convicted of second-degree murder in a fatal 2024 hit-and-run in an Ocean City parking lot.
On Dec. 16, 2024, the Ocean City Police Department was called to a shopping center parking lot near 94th Street on reports of a hit-and-run. There, they found 59-year-old James Callahan seriously injured. Callahan was taken to a nearby hospital but did not survive.
The ensuing investigation revealed that Callahan was crossing Coastal Highway when a dark-colored SUV turned onto the roadway. Callahan kept walking across the road into the parking lot and reportedly “gestured” towards the SUV, according to police. The SUV then turned into the parking lot, accelerated, and swerved into Callahan before fleeing, according to investigators.
Court records include a witness describing the vehicle going as fast as 50 miles per hour when it struck Callahan.
Police would quickly identify then-57-year-old James John Johnson as the driver of the SUV. Johnson was arrested on Dec. 17 and charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, first and second-degree assault, and possession of a controlled dangerous substance.
On Nov. 25, 2025, Johnson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder.
According to court records, Johnson was sentenced on Wednesday, March 25, 2026. Worcester County Circuit Court Judge Brian D. Shockley handed down a sentence of 40 years.
Ocean City Police