Accident

Bob Baffert strode into the Preakness stakes barn Friday morning, shouting toward Orb's trainer Shug McGaughey loud enough so all could hear. "OK, Shug, I'm here to take away that media spotlight for you," he said. Baffert, indeed, is one of the few people in the sport who could have swiped some of the attention from McGaughey and his heavily favored colt this week . Baffert has won the Preakness five times, and on three occasions he's moved on to Belmont with a chance at the Triple Crown.

Robert Vigorito knew he had changed some lives over the years since he helped start the Columbia Triathlon in 1984. He transformed an inaugural event that attracted fewer than 100 competitors into one of the top triathlons in the country with as many as 2,500 coming to Centennial Park each spring since 1988. It wasn't surprising, considering that Vigorito knew how competing in triathlons had changed his own life. Vigorito, whose friends growing up in East Haven, Conn., called him "Pig Iron" because he was usually among the slowest in whatever sport they were playing, went from not knowing what a triathlon was to competing in the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii six times.

An Ellicott City man died over the weekend after an accident on the Tough Mudder obstacle course in West Virginia, the first such death in the three-year history of the outdoor run that bills itself as "probably the toughest event on the planet. " Avishek Sengupta, 28, was with a half-dozen friends on the course Saturday when he encountered the "Walk the Plank" obstacle, in which participants jump into a deep pool of muddy water 15 feet below a wooden platform. Sengupta jumped in but did not resurface and was later flown to Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va., where he was taken off life support Sunday.

Fire officials in Harford County say a medevac helicopter was requested in Whiteford on Sunday after an 11-year-old boy reportedly crashed an ATV four-wheeler into a tree. The accident happened in the 4400 block of Slate Ridge Road. On Sunday afternoon, a member with the Whiteford Volunteer Fire Company said no further details were immediately available. This story will be updated. andrea.walker@baltsun.com Twitter.com/ankwalker Text BUSINESS to 70701 to get Baltimore Sun Business text alerts

Maryland could become one of a handful of states that grant special driver's licenses to illegal immigrants under legislation garnering strong support in Annapolis. The bill, passed by the Senate on Monday, would expand and make permanent an existing two-tiered driver's license system to include more than 100,000 people whose immigration status currently prevents them from applying for a license. Gov. Martin O'Malley backs the plan, which now moves to the House of Delegates. "It's a safety issue," said Del. Jolene Ivey, a Prince George's County Democrat who introduced the House version.

Del. Donald H. Dwyer Jr. said Thursday that he had been drinking alcohol when a motorboat he was operating collided with another boat in the Magothy River — an accident that left six people with serious injuries. In a brief news conference outside a Baltimore hospital, the Pasadena Republican said his blood-alcohol content was measured at 0.2 percent after Wednesday's crash. The legal limit is .08, according to state law. "I deeply regret my actions and ask for your forgiveness," Dwyer said, adding that no one should operate a car or boat while under the influence of alcohol.

Shirtless, hair flowing, legs pumping, Dr. Theodore Houk is a familiar sight running along North Charles Street on his twice-daily, 5.5-mile trek between his Lutherville home and his job at Greater Baltimore Medical Center. "You always see him out there," said Kathleen Wrona, who has seen Houk, an internal medicine specialist, often during her commute. On Thursday, she saw him again, witnessing as the vehicle in front of her struck Houk, critically injuring him and sending him to Maryland Shock Trauma Center via helicopter.

Two people died as a result of a diving accident at Aberdeen Proving Ground on Tuesday afternoon, the Army confirmed. The deaths were said to be two Navy divers who were working in the installation's Underwater Explosion Test Facility, also known as the "super pond," where a civilian diver employed by the Army died in an accident on Jan. 30, several Harford County emergency response sources said. One source said the divers were in cardiac arrest when they surfaced and had been working in the pond on air hoses, not self-contained breathing units, and were tethered to each other.

Two people died and four were rescued in a boating accident on the Chesapeake Bay Saturday when their 25-foot boat capsized two miles south of Point Lookout State Park in St. Mary's County, according to Department of Natural Resources Police. Sgt. Brian Albert, a spokesman for the DNR police, said authorities were still on the scene and were trying to recover the boat. The victims were identified as two Lexington Park, Md., men - David Chase, 55, and David Fletcher, 43. "We think that the accident was due to rough seas, but we're not positive," Albert said.

Baltimore County police said that a vehicle left the 8200 block of Glen Michael Lane about 5 p.m. Monday and hit a nearby building, causing considerable damage. Officers of the Woodlawn Precinct said there were no injuries and that the accident remains under investigation. - Jacques Kelly

Baltimore Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a man found in a vehicle in Northwest Baltimore on Saturday morning. Officers went to the 2500 block of Chelsea Terrace, which is off of Gwynns Falls Parkway, on Saturday about 3:15 a.m. for a report of a car accident, police said. They found a man inside a vehicle. He was suffering from at least one gunshot wound, they said. The man was taken to Sinai Hospital, where he later died. alisonk@baltsun.com twitter.com

Among the 65 calls for medical and fire-rescue service the Arbutus Volunteer Fire Department received during the period April 21-28 were the following Bero Road, 2900 block, 10 :09 p.m. April 27. Crews from the Lansdowne, Arbutus and English Consul volunteer stations responded to the report of a person shot in Lansdowne. One critically injured person transported to University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center. Interstate-695 between Wilkens Avenue and Southwestern Boulevard, 5:19 p.m. April 26. Crews from the Arbutus volunteer station and Catonsville career station responded to the report of a motor vehicle accident on the Baltimore Beltway.

Police say a 41-year-old man died early Monday in a motorcyclist accident in the Glen Arm area of Baltimore County Police said Michael William Ruehling, of Aberdeen, was driving southbound on Glen Arm Road, near Manor Road around 2 a.m. when he crashed his 1994 Honda motorcycle. Police said their preliminary investigation indicated Ruehling drove off the west side of Glen Arm Road and struck several posts, a concrete footer and a stone retaining wall. He was thrown off the motorcycle.

An Ellicott City man died over the weekend after an accident on the Tough Mudder obstacle course in West Virginia, the first such death in the three-year history of the outdoor run that bills itself as "probably the toughest event on the planet. " Avishek Sengupta, 28, was with a half-dozen friends on the course Saturday when he encountered the "Walk the Plank" obstacle, in which participants jump into a deep pool of muddy water 15 feet below a wooden platform. Sengupta jumped in but did not resurface and was later flown to Inova Fairfax Hospital in Falls Church, Va., where he was taken off life support Sunday.

Baltimore County Police were on the scene Sunday investigating a vehicle crash in the Route 40 area eastbound at Martin Boulevard in the Middle River area. Police said that at 6:27 a.m., police and fire units were dispatched to eastbound Route 40 at Martin Boulevard for a crash with injuries. Responding units found a single vehicle crash involving a Ford Mustang with four occupants. Two passengers, an adult female and an adult male, were pronounced dead at the scene. The victims have not been identified and no next of kin notifications have been made, police said.

Two people died and four were rescued in a boating accident on the Chesapeake Bay Saturday when their 25-foot boat capsized two miles south of Point Lookout State Park in St. Mary's County, according to Department of Natural Resources Police. Sgt. Brian Albert, a spokesman for the DNR police, said authorities were still on the scene and were trying to recover the boat. The victims were identified as two Lexington Park, Md., men - David Chase, 55, and David Fletcher, 43. "We think that the accident was due to rough seas, but we're not positive," Albert said.

An accident involving a tractor trailer and a passenger vehicle has the westbound Bay Bridge closed near the Anne Arundel County line. According to WJZ TV, the truck rear-ended the car, pushing it into a side rail on the bridge. The driver of the car was evacuated from the accident scene by helicopter.

Baltimore police were investigating a fatal motorcycle accident that closed the northbound lanes of Interestate-83 downtown for three and a half hours Sunday evening. The accident took place just south of Penn Station at 5:35 and closed the northbound lanes of I-83 from Fayette Street until the Penn Station area until 9 p.m., said police spokesman Donny Moses. A 40-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash after the motorcycle she was driving lost control and hit the right wall of the highway, Moses said.

Several crashes slowed the Baltimore area's morning commute Friday as motorists navigated heavy rain. A single-vehicle crash in Anne Arundel County closed the shoulder of the inner loop of Interstate 695 at Route 295 as of 7:20 a.m., according to the state Department of Transportation. Also, in Harford County, a two-vehicle collision closed the shoulder of southbound Interstate 95 near the exit for Route 152 as of 7:52 a.m., officials said. Luke.Broadwater@baltsun.com Twitter.com/lukebroadwater

I was shocked to hear the news of Dr. Theodore Houk's injury after he was hit by a car recently as he was jogging to work ("Best wishes to Dr. Houk," March 30). I wish him and his family all the best and a speedy recovery. After serving the past 20 years in the military, I was happy to return to the area where I grew up when my family found a home in West Towson last year. Being an avid competitive runner, one of the first things I noticed was Dr. Houk's figure sprinting up and down Charles Street.