31-year-old Baltimore Police officer killed in I-695 crash

Hayes Gardner

The Baltimore Banner

December 21, 2025

James Beckham, the 31-year-old Essex man who died at an area hospital following a car crash Saturday morning in Baltimore County, has been identified as a Baltimore Police Department officer.

In a message to the department, Commissioner Richard Worley wrote that “our hearts are with his parents, siblings, and all those that knew and loved him. He will be greatly missed.

“Since the start of his career, Officer Beckham demonstrated dedication, humility and a genuine eagerness to learn,” Worley wrote.

He asked members of the department to wear mourning bands for the next week.

A little after 8 a.m. Saturday, Beckham drove a Nissan Sentra on the inner loop of I-695 at Perring Parkway, according to a Maryland State Police news release. The vehicle struck the corner of a Toyota C-HR, which caused “subsequent crashes” with a Nissan Altima and a Toyota RAV4.

The cause of the crash has not been determined, state police said.

The driver of the Nissan Altima was transported to a hospital for treatment. Those in the other two vehicles were uninjured, according to the release.

As of Sunday, 459 people have died due to injuries from crashes on Maryland roadways this year, according to state data. That is on pace for a much-improved year over 2024, when more than 570 people died.