Two Carroll County men were killed in separate automobile accidents within 12 hours Wednesday night and yesterday morning.
State police said Brett Richards Geist, 25, of the 17500 block of Grace Road, Hampstead, died about 7:15 a.m. yesterday in a multi-vehicle collision that occurred in dense fog on Route 482.
Police said Mr. Geist was driving a Plymouth Horizon west on the highway and swerved to avoid a vehicle that pulled out in front of him from Gablehammer Road.
Mr. Geist's car spun on the roadway and collided head-on with a westbound Chevrolet Blazer. The crash ripped off the Blazer's left front wheel, which wedged under the rear of the vehicle as it crashed into a guard rail, police said.
The driver of the Blazer, Lisa Ann Hocutt, 29, of the 4400 block of North Woods Trail, Hampstead, was found lying in a field about 10 feet from the car.
As the Plymouth continued westbound, Mr. Geist was ejected and his car collided into the guard rail about 100 feet from the Blazer.
Police said a white Toyota Tercel driven by Brenda Ensor Benson, 43, of the 5100 block of Mount Carmel Road, Hampstead, also westbound on Route 482, attempted to slow down and maneuver around the damaged car when she saw the victim lying in the roadway of westbound traffic.
She told police she was unable to avoid striking him. The impact pushed him into the eastbound lane.
About the same time, her car was struck from behind by a Ford PTC pickup truck driven by Susan Rebecca Stonesifer, 31, of the 3900 block of Mount Carmel Road, Upperco. Ms. Benson's car spun around at impact and it, too, struck the victim.
Mr. Geist was pronounced dead at the scene.
The three women were taken to Carroll County General Hospital. Officials there said Ms. Benson and Ms. Stonesifer were both released after treatment. Ms. Hocutt was held for observation.
Police said the vehicle that pulled out in front of Mr. Geist's car did not stop. The investigation is continuing.
In the earlier accident, Henry Clay Wheeler, 34, of Westminster, was killed when he drove his 1976 Ford Granada into the path of a tractor-trailer southbound on Route 30 at 7:05 p.m. Wednesday at the intersection with Bachmans Valley and Wentz roads.
He was pronounced dead at 7:55 p.m. at Hanover General
Hospital.
State police said Mr. Wheeler's car was attempting to cross Route 30 from Wentz Road when his car was struck broadside by a tractor-trailer rig driven by David Lee Rohrer, 40, of Hanover, Pa.
The car careened into a pickup truck containing four people that was merging into the southbound lane of Route 30 from Bachmans Valley Road. The impact of that collision slammed the car and pickup truck against a guard rail.
The pickup's occupants -- identified as Wayne E. Hively, 48; his wife, Kathryn Hively, 37; and their two children, Casey, 3, and Katelyn, 4 months -- were taken to the Carroll County General Hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries and released.
Mr. Rohrer refused medical treatment, police said.