The driver of a van loaded with car batteries was killed yesterday when a tractor-trailer delivering a new boat to a marina in Deale ran a red light in southern Anne Arundel County and plowed into his vehicle, turning it over and crushing it, Anne Arundel police said.
The rig jackknifed, rupturing its fuel tank and spilling fuel onto Solomons Island and Bay Front roads, along with acid from the batteries, said Officer John Bull of the police traffic safety division.
Anne Arundel police closed the intersection for nearly five hours, routing traffic onto side roads while state police and a hazardous-materials crew from Maryland Environmental Services cleaned up the spill, Bull said.
He would not identify the driver of the van, who was making deliveries for a Pennsylvania auto supply company, because his family had not been notified. He was declared dead at the scene.
Bull said the tractor-trailer, driven by John Grabowski, 55, of Clearwater, Fla., was eastbound on Bay Front Road, headed for Gates Marina with a 25-foot Wellcraft about 10: 40 a.m. Grabowski ran a red light at Solomons Island Road and struck the driver's-side door of the northbound van, police said.
The rig pushed the van into a pickup truck driven by LeRoy Burns, 46, of Pasadena, then turned it over, Bull said.
Bull said no charges had been brought against Grabowski but that the investigation was continuing.
Pub Date: 4/03/98
