A Carroll County woman died and two Baltimore County women were injured after two vehicles collided Wednesday afternoon on Route 140 (Westminster Pike) between Reisterstown and Westminster, said Baltimore County police. About 5 p.m., Sharon Winneberger Berkemeier, 51, of the 200 block of Old Westminster Pike in Finksburg was driving a 1995 Ford pickup truck north near Glen Falls Road when she lost control of the vehicle, veered to the right and glanced off a guardrail. Police said the truck then entered the southbound lane and crashed into a 2002 Honda CRV driven by Andrea Piscano, 33, of the first block of Woodhollow Court in Owings Mills and also occupied by Nina Lavrenov, 40, of the first block of Dyson Dam Court in Reisterstown. Police said Berkemeier was thrown from her pickup truck and that Piscano and Lavrenov were trapped in their vehicle before they were freed by firefighters. Police said Berkemeier was taken by ambulance to Carroll Hospital Center before she was transferred to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, where she died about 8:30 p.m.
Around The Region
Richard Irwin
Bridge in Arbutus set for rehabilitation
The State Highway Administration said Thursday that it will launch a $1.3 million project this month to rehabilitate the bridge carrying U.S. 1 over Sulphur Spring Road in Arbutus. The project, which will begin about the middle of this month and continue until next spring, will reduce U.S. 1 to two lanes of traffic - one in each direction - in the work zone just north of the Halethorpe MARC train station. The agency is urging MARC riders to allow for extra time to get to the station while the project continues. SHA spokesman Dave Buck said the bridge was built in 1947 and rehabilitated in 1978. He said the project involves full replacement of the deck, rather than a simple resurfacing, as well as other rehabilitation work. He said the piers that provide structural support for the bridge do not need replacement. The agency said the lane closings will be scheduled for midday on weekdays - between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. - and overnight Sunday through Thursday.
Michael Dresser
Renaissance festival may move to new site
The general manager of the Maryland Renaissance Festival says the group has identified at least nine sites in six counties for possible relocation of the medieval fair from its home in Crownsville. Jules Smith Jr. said Thursday the sites are in Calvert, Charles, Frederick, Howard, Prince George's and Baltimore counties. Smith said any relocation from Anne Arundel would take years, but a decision could come relatively soon because land prices are attractive. The group began searching in October for a site on which to expand its annual lineup of jousting, juggling and other revelry.
Associated Press
