Baltimore Man Charged After Wrong-Way I-95 Crash Kills Two in Howard County

Overview

• Maryland State Police arrested Michael Coupet, 34, on multiple counts including vehicular manslaughter and DUI-related homicide, and he is being held without bond at the Howard County Detention Center.
• The two people who died were identified as Venkata Asha Khanna Appana, 48, and Krishna Kishore Koti Kalapudi, 49, both of Marvin, North Carolina.
• The collision occurred around 2:45 a.m. on Jan. 4 on I-95 at Maryland 216, where a Toyota Sequoia driving the wrong way struck a Chrysler Pacifica head-on, according to preliminary findings.
• Two other passengers from the Chrysler, ages 21 and 16, were transported to trauma centers—one by ambulance and one by helicopter—and their conditions have not been released.
• The State Police Crash Team is leading an active investigation into factors that may include impairment, the Toyota driver was uninjured and remained at the scene, and lanes were closed for more than two hours during the response.