Crash

Four young men, including a Kent Island firefighter, were killed in a head-on car crash on Kent Island Wednesday afternoon, the Queen Anne's County sheriff's office said. Firefighter medics who rushed to the scene recognized the fireman who was killed, officials said. Eli Dabich, 73, a chemistry professor at the Naval Academy, was injured and flown to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where a spokeswoman said he was in serious condition as of Thursday afternoon. All of the teenagers killed were from Kent Island.

The bright young people in student government at the Johns Hopkins University no doubt pride themselves on their openness to a diversity of views and their commitment to the free exchange of ideas. That's why the school's Student Government Association's Judiciary Committee was right to overturn the student Senate's decision to deny official recognition to a student-led anti-abortion group. It's on just such contentious issues as abortion that vigorous public discussion and a healthy respect for the views of others are most needed, and we hope that's the lesson Hopkins' student government will ultimately draw from this imbroglio.

A man was killed after speeding through evening rush-hour traffic on a motorcycle Wednesday on Interstate 95 near the Baltimore northern city/county line, Maryland Transportation Authority officials said. The man was racing with another motorcyclist about 6:30 p.m., and witnesses said the two were performing wheelies as they sped along, an MdTA spokesman said. The man struck a Buick and was badly injured in the crash, while the other motorcyclist left the scene. The man has not been identified pending notification of his next of kin. He was medevaced to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center, where he was pronounced dead.

A car hurtled off the highway, fatally struck a pedestrian and overturned in front of City Hall and scores of downtown witnesses. A day later, police said the driver had walked free without charges. Despite anger and outrage from those who knew Matt Hersl, the longtime city worker and neighborhood volunteer killed Tuesday, Maryland State Police said they released the 43-year-old driver and left it to city prosecutors to decide whether to pursue charges. The decision met with criticism from a former leader of the state police, and City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young said he was "very disappointed.

A Baltimore city employee was killed Tuesday afternoon after a man veered off an interstate and sped onto downtown streets, flipping the car he was driving in front of City Hall, according to police and the victim's family. Matthew Hersl, an employee of 28 years who worked in the finance department and was an avid Orioles fan, was struck and taken to Maryland Shock Trauma center, where he was pronounced dead. A Maryland State trooper first encountered the driver on Interstate 83 when the driver flew up behind him at speeds that may have exceed 100 miles per hour, according to Sgt. Marc Black, a department spokesman.

An off-duty Harford County sheriff's deputy fired his service weapon at a man who he said became combative and then fled after the man rear-ended the deputy's vehicle, the Sheriff's Office said Monday night. The altercation led to a chase that ended with the man crashing his vehicle and then being arrested after a foot chase. A little before 5 p.m., an off-duty deputy assigned to the sheriff's office Violent Crimes Task Force, had just ended his shift and was headed home, according to Eddie Hopkins, spokesman for the Sheriff's Office.

It seemed every seat was filled during the Baltimore Orioles' exciting playoff run last season except the one that belonged to Matt Hersl. Friends say the rangy, baldheaded Orioles regular never sat during games but ran around Camden Yards, laughing with season ticket holders, keeping an eye on the batter to make sure he had the best vantage point to snag an errant fly ball or a home run souvenir. Hersl was a vigilant "ballhawk," and brought the same sharp eye and enthusiasm to his Little Italy community, where he served as the neighborhood watch leader.

A motorcycle driver was killed and a passenger suffered life-threatening injuries on Sunday evening in a crash on Veterans Highway at Benfield Boulevard in Millersville, Anne Arundel County Police said on Monday. In a statement, police said that at approximately 9:09 p.m., on Sunday, officers from the Eastern District responded to a serious motorcycle crash. Police said that its preliminary investigation revealed that a 2008 Harley-Davidson motorcycle with two riders crashed after striking a cement median on southbound Veterans Highway.

Four people were injured in a three-vehicle crash Saturday afternoon at the intersection of Route 543 and Walters Mill Road in Street. Maryland State Police troopers said the accident happened shortly after 1 p.m., when Coleman Lewis Hitchcock, 82, failed to stop at the stop sign on Walters Mill Road as he neared Route 543. His car, a Mitsubishi, was hit by a Mazda driven by Krystle Genuendt, 24, of Pennsylvania, according to Sgt. Gary Chatfield...