Howard County : Simpsonville
Several vehicles involved in crash
A dump truck carrying asphalt erupted in flames during a multiple-vehicle accident yesterday afternoon that closed westbound Route 32 in the Howard County community of Simpsonville during rush hour and caused backups on nearby U.S. 29.
One injured person was taken by ambulance to Maryland Shock Trauma Center; three people with minor injuries were taken to Howard County General Hospital, fire officials said.
A Ford Ranger towing construction equipment struck a vehicle, causing a chain reaction, according to police. Officials responding to the scene reported that the pickup truck was towing a Bobcat front-end loader. The dump truck was among the vehicles involved in the subsequent crashes. Howard County police said Route 32 would be cleared for traffic late last night.
State environment officials checked yesterday for runoff from the asphalt truck and state transportation officials inspected the Route 32 bridge over Cedar Lane, where the asphalt truck struck a concrete barrier. The bridge sustained minor damage, fire officials said.
William Mould, a spokesman for the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services, said the truck was "fully involved in flames" when firefighters arrived about 3 p.m.
Melissa Harris
Baltimore County
: Rosedale
Man is injured at I-95 work site
An employee of a private contractor was seriously injured yesterday afternoon when he was run over by a dump truck while performing maintenance work on northbound Interstate 95 near the Interstate 895 split around the city-county line, said a spokesman for the Maryland Transportation Authority Police.
The identity of the man and the company he works for were not immediately released.
Cpl. Jonathan Green, the spokesman, said the driver of a dump truck filled with ground-up pieces of roadway was backing up about 3 p.m. when the vehicle struck the worker.
Green said the worker, believed to be in his early 20s, sustained injuries to his legs and upper body and was taken by ambulance to Maryland Shock Trauma Center. His condition was not available.
Green said the accident caused a rolling backup for nearly two hours.
Richard Irwin
Baltimore
: Circuit Court
Green gets life plus 95 years for murder
LeShawn Green, a Baltimore man convicted in May of first-degree murder, was sentenced yesterday to life plus 95 years in prison. Green, 25, shot up a West Baltimore pizza parlor July 15, 2005, killing 16-year-old Jawan Lee and wounding three other teenagers, prosecutors said. Green's trial was delayed several times because witness Pharaoh Carr, a longtime acquaintance of Green's, could not be found. Police made jailhouse recordings between Green and Carr's girlfriend in which he encouraged Carr to evade police. After prosecutors won a motion to use Carr's tape-recorded statement, he showed up to testify. In addition to first-degree murder, a city jury convicted Green of three counts of first-degree assault, using a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Circuit Judge John C. Themelis imposed the sentence.
Julie Bykowicz
Summer learning
Grant to support books purchase
The Center for Summer Learning at Johns Hopkins Hospital has received a $15,000 grant from the Verizon Foundation to help support 10 programs to purchase books and supplies. The announcement was made yesterday on Summer Learning Day, when each program held activities. Baltimore's William B. Baer School, for children with disabilities, held an event called Earth Wise Summer Learning Museum that showcased environmental issues, endangered species and preservation of the Chesapeake Bay. Programs getting grant money include five in Baltimore, one in Annapolis and one in Cumberland. The Verizon Foundation is part of Verizon Communications. Last year, it awarded more than $69 million in grants to nonprofit agencies.