The man charged in the deadly hit-and-run of 14-year-old Gavin Knupp in 2022 accepted a plea deal in Worcester County Circuit Court on Tuesday.

Tyler Mailloux, 24, was facing 17 charges in connection with the fatal hit-and-run. He pleaded guilty to one of the most serious charges — failing to immediately stop at the scene of an accident resulting in death.

His trial was scheduled to begin on March 3.

In a statement through their attorney Neil Dubovsky, the Knupp family said it was an “emotional but gratifying day.”

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“For the first time since our nightmare started, we saw the person who took our son and brother begin to be held accountable,“ the family said in the statement. ”We want to again thank Kris Heiser and her team for their tireless efforts to help make this happen. Nothing will bring Gavin back and our fight is far from over, but today was a meaningful step in the right direction. And for that we are grateful.”

On July 11, 2022, Gavin Knupp and his sister, Summer Knupp, 17, were on their way home when the 14-year-old asked to stop the car so he could take a video of a taxidermy buck’s head by the side of the road in Berlin. Mailloux was driving a 2011 Mercedes-Benz C300 that hit and killed Gavin Knupp.

The case captivated the tight-knit communities of Ocean City and Ocean Pines. Shops and restaurants along Route 50 and Ocean Highway posted signs demanding “Justice for Gavin” or “Do it for Gavin.” Thousands posted about the case on social media and supporters of the Knupp family sponsored billboard ads about Gavin.

Many local businesses, some recognizable by tourists, have put slogans of support for Gavin Knupp.
Gavin Knupp's hit-and-run death shook the Ocean City and Ocean Pines communities. Supporters of the Knupp family put up billboards and signs demanding justice for the teenager. (Kaitlin Newman / The Baltimore Banner)

More than nine months later, the Worcester County State’s Attorney’s Office charged Mailloux in the crash.

Law enforcement alleges that Mailloux left the scene and kept the Mercedes-Benz that he was driving in a garage.

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In 2023, Circuit Judge Brett W. Wilson granted a motion to dismiss, ruling the state’s attorney filed the case in the wrong court. But the Appellate Court of Maryland overturned that decision and reinstated the charges.

Mailloux is being held at the Worcester County Detention Center. His sentencing date is scheduled for March 19.