Aberdeen police identify man killed by Amtrak train

The man killed last Friday when he was struck on Amtrak's Northeast Corridor tracks in Aberdeen was identified Thursday as James Dexter Sharon, 48, of the Aberdeen area. According to Aberdeen Police Department spokesman Sgt. Fred Budnick, relatives have been notified but police are not aware of any fixed address for Sharon. Court records show him listed at addresses in Edgewood and Perryville. Sharon, who had a long record of convictions for trespassing, public drinking and other offenses, was struck by a southbound train at the 600 block of S. Philadelphia Blvd. (U.S. 40) in Aberdeen. Budnick said toxicology reports on Sharon have not been completed.

-Michael Dresser

Pickup driver indicted in fatal November crash

The driver of a pickup truck that flipped last year, killing a River Hill high school football player, was indicted Thursday by a Howard County grand jury. David Daniel Erdmann, 22, of the 4300 block of Heritage Hills Lane in Ellicott City, was charged in a multicount indictment. Among the charges were driving under the influence of alcohol, vehicular homicide and manslaughter. Steven Dankos, 17, of Clarksville was riding in the truck bed and died at the scene. Erdmann's brother Thomas, one of Dankos' close friends and a teammate on the River Hill football team, was hurt in the crash. The accident took place Nov. 29, little more than a day after River Hill lost in the state semifinals.

-Don Markus