He was a house. That’s what 44-year-old Christian Tanner, who died in a crash near the Naval Academy Golf Course on Nov. 9, was nicknamed by his friends.
Those who knew him well and saw him the day he died say he was a big, happy man who suffered from seizures and took care of his parents. It was a seizure — not drinking — that caused him to hit five cars going more than 85 miles per hour, they say.
Naval Academy officials said Tanner was speeding on Greenbury Point Road on Nov. 9 when he lost control of his vehicle, swerved and hit five parked cars before coming to a stop near the Naval Academy Primary School.
A statement released by the academy read, “It is suspected that alcohol may have been involved.”
Naval Criminal Investigative Service public affairs officer Ed Buice added this week that toxicology results will determine whether alcohol was a factor in the crash. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Baltimore said Tanner’s death was ruled an accident from multiple injuries, but could not give more information.
“When we heard what happened, it just really shattered our world,” Justin Pacheco, a friend of Tanner’s, said. Pacheco bartends at Boatyard Bar and Grill in Annapolis, where he said Tanner was a regular.
He also said Tanner stopped in to see Pacheco and some friends, and declined a drink from him just before the crash. Another of Tanner’s friends, Rick Coale, said Tanner joined him while he ate lunch and that nothing about him seemed unusual that day. Tanner’s seizure condition is widely known, he said.
David Tanner confirmed that his son has had epilepsy, and said he would sometimes take Ubers to avoid driving. Sometimes, Tanner said, it just couldn’t be avoided. He had a cat and his parents to take care of.
“Christian had a million friends in Annapolis. He was a good kid,” Tanner said. “We’re all convinced he suffered from an epileptic seizure. Everybody’s upset with the Naval Academy for characterizing it as alcohol. He wasn’t much of a drinker, especially so early in the day.”
Rob Katz, a friend to Tanner for more than 20 years, said he could vouch for his friend’s character. Tanner was named most valuable member of the Chesapeake Outdoor Group, which Katz is president of, for all of his volunteer efforts last year.
“He was a pretty amazing person — a very giving, caring soul,” Katz said. “He was one of the smartest people I’ve met on this planet. He’d be the one I want on my trivia team. He just knew so much about so many different things.”
Katz said that as an attorney who has handled drunken driving cases, Tanner’s crash doesn’t seem right.
“There is not the slightest hesitation in my mind that was not the case,” Katz said. “Someone under the influence would have braked or swerved to avoid other vehicles. He would have tried to navigate the turn. I think it was some kind of medical issue. I would have no problem defending him and bringing that up in the case. It does not fit into his character to be that intoxicated, especially that early in the day.”
Rick and Beth Coale said Tanner was well known for working in different places around the city, and that he was taking care of his ill parents.
She said Tanner had told her he had suffered from seizures while driving in the past. He told her that once while working as a driver, a passenger had to reach over his seat and push the brake pedal while Tanner was having a seizure. Tanner also worked at Vin 909 in Annapolis briefly before suffering a seizure on the job, according to Rick.
“Everybody who knows him knows that he had seizures,” Rick Coale said. “I’d be hard pressed to think of a restaurant in Annapolis he hasn’t worked in over the last 30 years.”
Another of Tanner’s friends, Jenn Byrne, of Arnold, said Tanner’s cat wouldn’t stop crying the night he didn’t come home.
“He was just a loving person and a loved member of the community. He would help anybody,” Byrne said. “He was a funny, witty, intelligent guy.”
