Curve

An Eastern Petroleum tanker overturned on a steep curve in Gambrills yesterday morning, spilling about 1,000 gallons of heating oil, according to Anne Arundel County officials. The tanker driver told investigators that the truck's brakes malfunctioned and that he was unable to negotiate the tight curve on Dicus Mill Road, said Anne Arundel police Sgt. William Collier. The truck overturned about 8:30 a.m., spilling fuel on the bank and down the hill, Collier said.

Motorists on Tufton Avenue come upon horses and pastures, and wide views of hillside and sky. Closer to the road are the memorials. Two shrines honor three teenagers who were killed in crashes about a half-mile apart. One of those occurred on the same curve where three other people have died in the past two years. "It's a beautiful ride during the day - the horse farms, the views. It's gorgeous," said Neil Goldberg, whose 18-year-old son died in August in Tufton Avenue's most recent fatal accident.

A Glen Burnie man, arrested Monday running from a home, has been charged in a string of burglaries in the Cloverhurst Townhomes in Glen Burnie, police said.The burglaries, all of which occurred on weekdays, were on Short Curve Road, Turn Loop Road and Great Bend Road.Police were called to the neighborhood about 11:30 a.m. Monday by a resident of the 8100 block of Turn Loop Road who reported that a man was carrying items from behind the townhouses on Short Curve Road.Cpl. Dwight G. Shaffer found jewelry and cash worth about $5,000 near where the man was seen.

A motorist was killed early today when the car he was driving south on Md. 23 near Norrisville went out of control on a curve and flipped over, landing in a field.Gary Wayne Kline Sr., 42, of Beloak Court in northern Baltimore County, was pronounced dead at the scene about 2 a.m., police said.Police said Kline was southbound on Md. 23 around 2 a.m. and had just entered the state from Pennsylvania when he failed to make a curve to the right at Wiley's Corner, less than a quarter-mile from the Pennsylvania line.

A man was killed yesterday evening when he lost control of a motorcycle while attempting to negotiate a curve on Route 10 in Glen Burnie and crashed into a guardrail, state police said.Police said the 26-year-old county resident, whose name was withheld pending notification of family members, was driving a Suzuki motorcycle north on Route 10 south of Route 648 about 7 p.m. when he failed to make a curve, left the roadway and crashed into the guardrail.Police said the man was pronounced dead at the scene and that speed appears to have contributed to the accident.

Forecasters have assigned alternating male and females names to hurricanes since 1979. Since then, Dennis Ferguson of Easton asks, "which 'gender' has caused the most damage?" Hurricane 'gender' is meaningless, so damage totals should be evenly distributed. But Katrina's $81 billion tab was three times the next-costliest storm's $26.5 billion (Andrew, 1992), so I suspect she wrecked the curve.

Both lanes of Route 97 near Union Mills were closed for nearly six hours yesterday after a tractor-trailer hauling automotive parts rounded a curve too fast and flipped, state police reported. The accident, which occurred about 2:15 p.m. near Saw Mill Road, caused major damage to the rig, downed a power line and littered the roadway and nearby lawns with auto parts that were being hauled from Marada Industries in Westminster to Rochester Hills, Mich., police said. The truck rounded the curve at about 55 mph - 15 more than the posted limit - which caused the trailer's load to shift, police said.

Seven teen-agers were thrown from a pickup truck early yesterday when its 18-year-old driver missed a curve on a winding Ellicott City road, careened down a hill and crashed into two trees, Howard County police reported.Four other youths riding in the cab with the driver were hurt when the pickup flipped over about 2 a.m. near the bottom of a grassy slope. County police called it "a miracle" that none of the 12 youths was seriously injured.Police said that the truck full of teen-agers was speeding along College Avenue, just north of Bonnie Branch Road, when the driver failed to negotiate a curve.

To Phoenix-area residents, it's simply "dead man's curve" - a twisting section of Jarrettsville Pike that lies at the bottom of a steep hill near a meandering stream, where mature trees block the line of sight in both directions. Four yellow signs warn of dangers: the sharp curve, the steep grade, crossing deer and an upcoming school bus stop. But drivers often ignore the signs and speed down the hill, say those who live and work in the area. "If it was on flat ground, it wouldn't be an issue, but because of that hill, people have some speed and they just don't know what's coming," said Bob Thompson, who co-owns Lothorian Pools at the bottom of the hill, just beyond the curve.

A 16-year-old Westminster girl, who was ejected from her car when it flipped on North Gorsuch Road on Friday, remained in good condition at Sinai Hospital yesterday.Rebecca Eurice of the 1600 block of Carriage Hill Drive was flown to the hospital's trauma center by state police helicopter after the Honda CRX she was driving south on North Gorsuch Road ran off the left side of the wet roadway and became airborne, state police said.The accident occurred on a sharp, downhill curve in the 100 block of North Gorsuch Road.