Truck driver injured after bus, pickup collide in Arbutus
ARBUTUS -- A Baltimore man was injured yesterday when an MTA bus turned into oncoming traffic on Wilkens Avenue, police reported.
The pickup truck driver, Roy Benjamin Expectacion of the 1000 block of Regina Drive in Baltimore, was taken to Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he was in fair condition late last night.
The crash occurred about 6 a.m. when the bus made a left turn from Leeds Avenue onto Wilkens Avenue and the pickup truck crashed into it, police said.
Eighteen bus passengers were taken to local hospital; none was seriously injured, police said. The bus driver, Inez Elizabeth Milburn of the 1500 block of Washington Blvd. in Baltimore, declined medical treatment, police said.
Police are investigating the cause of the crash, which occurred in southwest Baltimore County, near the city line.
State police academy welcomes 122nd class
PIKESVILLE -- The Maryland State Police started its 122nd academy training class yesterday for 56 candidates who want to become state troopers.
The six-month course will require the candidates to study criminal and traffic law, officer safety, report writing and basic criminal investigation. They will also undergo physical training including judo, boxing, calisthenics and running.
The candidates join another class that is in its 16th week of training.
In Baltimore City
City man, 50, sentenced for three bank robberies
A Baltimore man was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court to 63 months in prison for three downtown bank robberies he committed in October.
In all three robberies, Robert Plott, 50, presented tellers with holdup notes demanding cash. His combined take from the three robberies -- once at Provident Bank on East Lexington Street and twice at Susquehanna Bank on Light Street -- was about $1,600. In each robbery, Plott exchanged one stolen $100 bill for five $20 bills before fleeing.
Plott was arrested by police when a dye pack exploded in his pocket Oct. 27. After serving his prison term, Plott will have three years of supervised release. Judge William D. Quarles also ordered him to pay restitution to the banks.
Civil Rights Act discussion scheduled for tomorrow
A panel discussion commemorating the 40th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 will be held at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow in Wheeler Auditorium at Enoch Pratt Free Library on Cathedral Street.
Panelists will include attorney A. Dwight Pettit, a member of the University System of Maryland's Board of Regents; retired Circuit Judge Kenneth L. Johnson, a hearing examiner for the Baltimore Community Relations Commission; Woody Grant, chief of quality assurance and compliance for the State Department of Education; and former state Sen. Michael B. Mitchell, whose father, Clarence M. Mitchell Jr., was instrumental in passing the act.
The Coalition Opposed to Violence and Extremism is sponsoring the event with several other local, state and federal groups. To reserve seating: Baltimore Community Relations Commission, 410-396-3151.