Former Johns Hopkins professor dies of injuries suffered in crash

Georgia man struck by pickup truck on Dec. 31 in Towson

A former Johns Hopkins professor who was struck by a pickup truck in a hit-and-run crash on New Year’s Eve in Towson died from his injuries Sunday morning, Baltimore County police said.

Thomas Charles Gluick, 62, of Georgia was struck around 7:30 p.m. on Dec. 31 while he was crossing the intersection of Dulaney Valley Road and Fairmount Avenue, police said.

A truck driven by an unknown man made a left turn from Fairmount Avenue and struck Gluick, police wrote. He was taken to the hospital but ultimately died from his injuries about two weeks later.

Gluick’s ex-wife of 25 years,

Sheila Garrity, who lives in the Baltimore area, said Gluick had come to visit her in Maryland before returning to his home in the Atlanta area.

She said the two lived in Maryland during the 1990s while Gluick taught chemistry and was a research scientist at Johns Hopkins University. Although the two have been divorced since 2012, she said they remained close over the years.

She said his death Sunday came as a shock as she’d seen him in the hospital the day prior and had spoken to him about rehabilitation for broken bones he’d suffered in the crash.

Gluick was “larger than life” at 6 feet 5, Garrity said. She said he had a goofy demeanor, regularly joking with friends and co-workers.

“He would meet you and make up a song about your name,” Garrity said.

She also described him as someone devoted to his work, saying he was “in the lab all hours of the day and night” and someone who continued to follow his passion for teaching and science to Georgia, where he became an assistant professor of chemistry at Georgia Gwinnett College.

Garrity said that while she’s still trying to wrap her head around the news, she will remember Gluick as a man who loved the outdoors and used to take her to Glacier National Park in Montana every summer to hike.

“Tom knew he was loved and I just have to remind myself of that,” she said.

Police wrote that the truck that struck Gluick is a Dodge Ram pickup truck made from 2013 to 2020. The department has not identified the driver.

Anyone with information is asked to call 410-307-2020. Callers can remain anonymous.