Driver Error

AMONG YOUR least favorite highways in Howard County are two of its busiest: U.S. 40 and Route 100. Here is what you had to say about them, in response to my request for your nominations for the worst places to drive. "How about the ongoing problem of both arrows being green at the same time," said Darry Parker. "The U-turn/Left onto Ridge Road, north (at Super Fresh and Wal-Mart) and the right turn from Ridge Road north onto U.S. 40 West. Both have the right of way (green arrow)." People get very upset with each other at that place.

Two Anne Arundel County women died Monday at the scene of a head-on collision in Davidsonville. Stephanie Noell Banchero, 26, of the 1700 block of Woolford Lane in Gambrills, was driving north on Davidsonville Road near Rossback Road at about 5:50 p.m. She crossed the center line into oncoming traffic and collided with a car driven by Mary Elizabeth Corkill, 70, of the 1000 block of Galway Road in Davidsonville, police said. Driver error appears to have caused the accident, police said.

Howard County Police said driver error and speed appeared to have contributed to a 2:45 a.m. accident which killed Brian P. Wheeler of the 6400 block of Lochridge Road in the Village of Hickory Ridge.Another man in the car, James D. Jones, 23, also of the 6400 block of Lochridge Road, was treated at Howard County General Hospital and released.A police spokesman did not know which man was driving the car and said the accident remains under investigation.Police said the car, a 1989 Chevrolet Corvette, was eastbound in the 14000 block of Triadelphia Mill Road near Triadelphia Mill Farms when the accident occurred.

A collision in Edgewater Tuesday afternoon claimed the life of a 78-year-old man. Gene Herbert Byrd of the first block of Tarragon Lane in Edgewater died at Anne Arundel Medical Center within a few hours of the 2:53 p.m. crash at Solomons Island Road near Lee Airpark Drive, investigators said Wednesday. Byrd was making a left turn on the green signal from Lee Airpark Drive when his Volvo station wagon was struck on the driver's side door by a GMC Yukon traveling south on Solomons Island Road, Anne Arundel police said.

A 15-year-old girl was killed and three of her friends were seriously injured Thursday when the car they were riding in flew out of control and slammed into a tree on Mago Vista Road in Arnold.Kristen Laine Gough of the 1100 block of Ramblewood Drive of Arnold suffered severe head injuries in the accident and died shortly before midnight at Anne Arundel Medical Center.The driver, David Nicholas Shupe, 17, of the 1500 block of Star Pine Drive in Arnold, was in critical condition yesterday, and Erin Posson, 14, of the 1100 block of Silverleaf Drive in Arnold was in serious condition, both at Maryland Shock Trauma Center.

Three people were killed Wednesday night in Severn when a pickup truck and a sport utility vehicle collided head-on and the SUV burst into flames, Anne Arundel County police said. The drivers killed were identified as Jessica Lynn Ray, 26, of Severn and Preston Alonzo Matthews, 57, of Hanover. Police had not identified the passenger in Matthews' vehicle, who also died in the collision. The crash occurred about 10:30 p.m. near Donaldson Avenue and Walnut Grove Road. A preliminary investigation indicates that Ray's 1998 Ford F-150, which was westbound on Donaldson Avenue, crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with Matthews' 1997 Ford Expedition, according to police.

A 16-year-old was killed shortly before 4 p.m. yesterday when a 1980 Pontiac he was driving north on Md. 331 near Easton in Talbot County crossed the center line and crashed head-on into a southbound Mack truck.Police said the victim, Baron Nichols of Preston, was pronounced dead at the scene from massive head and chest injuries.The driver of the truck, Phillip Henes, 52, of Easton, was taken by ambulance to Memorial Hospital in Easton, where he was treated for minor injuries and released.

A North Point-area woman was killed late Tuesday when she lost control of her car in Edgemere and struck a telephone pole, Baltimore County police said.Police said Brenda Paska, 38, of the 7200 block of Waldman Ave. was westbound on Millers Island Road shortly before midnight when her car went off the road on a curve. Paska died at the scene, police said. Investigators attributed the accident to speed, alcohol and driver error.Pub Date: 1/09/97

Three people were killed Wednesday night in Severn when a pickup truck and a sport utility vehicle collided head-on and the SUV burst into flames, Anne Arundel County police said. The drivers killed were identified as Jessica Lynn Ray, 26, of Severn, and Preston Alonzo Matthews, 57, of Hanover. Police had not identified the passenger in Matthews' vehicle, who also died in the collision. The crash occurred about 10:30 p.m. near Donaldson Avenue and Walnut Grove Road. Preliminary investigation indicates that Ray's 1998 Ford F-150, which was westbound on Donaldson Avenue, crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with Matthews' 1997 Ford Expedition, according to police.

The driver of a pickup truck suspected of being impaired by alcohol and speeding the wrong way on westbound Route 100 hit a Toyota Camry head-on early today, critically injuring the 36-year-old driver, according to Anne Arundel County police. Olasupo Dosunmu of Hanover was rushed by state police Medevac helicopter to Maryland Shock Trauma Center after being cut from his crushed vehicle by firefighters. Police said he was driving the 1999 Camry in the slow lane of westbound Route 100 near Telegraph Road when he was struck by a 2006 Ford F-150 truck heading in the opposite direction on the highway about 2:45 a.m. Anne Arundel police identified the driver of the pickup truck as Leon Franklin Medura Jr., 28, of Crofton.

Anne Arundel County police were working to identify a man who was killed along with a dog in a pickup truck crash and fire early Friday in Harwood. Officers were called at 12:43 a.m. to the intersection of Solomons Island Road and Harwood Road, police said. Based on their initial investigation, the driver of the 1997 Ford F-150 was headed south on Solomons Island Road when, for unknown reasons, the vehicle drifted to the right just before the intersection with Harwood Road. The truck went across the median and through the southeast corner of the Southern High School parking lot, ending up in a small wooded area and catching fire, police said.

A report by the International Luge Federation has concluded that a series of events, including driver error, caused the crash that killed Republic of Georgia athlete Nodar Kumaritashvili just hours before the start of the Winter Olympics. Sandwiched between a glowing introductory tribute to Kumaritashvili and an attempt by the federation to repair its image in the final pages is a re-creation of the athlete's final moments and the safety measures taken before and after the crash.

Three people were killed Wednesday night in Severn when a pickup truck and a sport utility vehicle collided head-on and the SUV burst into flames, Anne Arundel County police said. The drivers killed were identified as Jessica Lynn Ray, 26, of Severn and Preston Alonzo Matthews, 57, of Hanover. Police had not identified the passenger in Matthews' vehicle, who also died in the collision. The crash occurred about 10:30 p.m. near Donaldson Avenue and Walnut Grove Road. A preliminary investigation indicates that Ray's 1998 Ford F-150, which was westbound on Donaldson Avenue, crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with Matthews' 1997 Ford Expedition, according to police.

Anne Arundel County police have identified the third victim of a fiery two-vehicle collision in Severn Wednesday night. Curtis Lee Matthews, 60, of Severn was a passenger in the sports utility vehicle that burst into flames when it was hit head-on by a pick-up truck, Anne Arundel County police said. He, along with the driver of the SUV, was pronounced dead at the scene. The drivers of the two vehicles were identified Thursday as Jessica Lynn Ray, 26, of Severn and Preston Alonzo Matthews, 57, of Hanover.

Three people were killed Wednesday night in Severn when a pickup truck and a sport utility vehicle collided head-on and the SUV burst into flames, Anne Arundel County police said. The drivers killed were identified as Jessica Lynn Ray, 26, of Severn, and Preston Alonzo Matthews, 57, of Hanover. Police had not identified the passenger in Matthews' vehicle, who also died in the collision. The crash occurred about 10:30 p.m. near Donaldson Avenue and Walnut Grove Road. Preliminary investigation indicates that Ray's 1998 Ford F-150, which was westbound on Donaldson Avenue, crossed into oncoming traffic and collided with Matthews' 1997 Ford Expedition, according to police.

The driver of a pickup truck suspected of being impaired by alcohol and speeding the wrong way on westbound Route 100 hit a Toyota Camry head-on early today, critically injuring the 36-year-old driver, according to Anne Arundel County police. Olasupo Dosunmu of Hanover was rushed by state police Medevac helicopter to Maryland Shock Trauma Center after being cut from his crushed vehicle by firefighters. Police said he was driving the 1999 Camry in the slow lane of westbound Route 100 near Telegraph Road when he was struck by a 2006 Ford F-150 truck heading in the opposite direction on the highway about 2:45 a.m. Anne Arundel police identified the driver of the pickup truck as Leon Franklin Medura Jr., 28, of Crofton.

State Police identified Steven Keith Parker, 37, of Shippensburg, Pa., as the man who was killed Wednesday when his motorcycle crashed into an oncoming car on Rocks Road in Forest Hill, Harford County.Parker was killed about 3: 20 p.m. when the 1997 Harley-Davidson motorcycle he was riding north on Rocks Road crossed the center line and crashed into a southbound 1995 Mazda, police said. The driver of the Mazda and a passenger suffered minor injuries.Cpl. Larry Gordon of the Benson barracks said driver error and excessive speed on the part of Parker contributed to the crash.

A Hampstead man killed early Sunday when his car struck a utility pole and caught fire in northern Harford County apparently had fallen asleep at the wheel, according to state police in Bel Air. Christopher Martin Snyder, 37, of the 1300 block of Main St. was pronounced dead about 3 a.m. Sunday at the scene in the 4600 block of Graceton Road near Pylesville, where he was trapped in his 1999 Pontiac Grand Am, police said. The car apparently was southbound near Wheeler School Road when it crossed the center line, struck the pole, flipped several times and caught fire, police said.

AMONG YOUR least favorite highways in Howard County are two of its busiest: U.S. 40 and Route 100. Here is what you had to say about them, in response to my request for your nominations for the worst places to drive. "How about the ongoing problem of both arrows being green at the same time," said Darry Parker. "The U-turn/Left onto Ridge Road, north (at Super Fresh and Wal-Mart) and the right turn from Ridge Road north onto U.S. 40 West. Both have the right of way (green arrow)." People get very upset with each other at that place.

A Hampstead man killed early Sunday when his car struck a utility pole and caught fire in northern Harford County apparently had fallen asleep at the wheel, according to state police in Bel Air. Christopher Martin Snyder, 37, of the 1300 block of Main St. was pronounced dead about 3 a.m. Sunday at the scene in the 4600 block of Graceton Road near Pylesville, where he was trapped in his 1999 Pontiac Grand Am, police said. The car apparently was southbound near Wheeler School Road when it crossed the center line, struck the pole, flipped several times and caught fire, police said.