Motorcycle

A Woodbridge, Va., man died Friday after his motorcycle collided with an ambulance on Route 198 near the Maryland City Shopping Center, Anne Arundel County police said. Gene Anthony Sergent, 20, was driving his 1998 Suzuki Katana east on Route 198 just before 11 a.m. when the motorcycle struck the ambulance as it was leaving the shopping center, police said. The ambulance, driven by Darrel Evan Blount, 42, of Washington, was crossing the eastbound lanes to turn left onto westbound Route 198. Sergent suffered multiple injuries and was pronounced dead at Laurel Regional Hospital.

Three die in two motorcycle crashes Two people were killed yesterday evening in a motorcycle crash on Interstate 97 in Anne Arundel County, and another died several hours earlier in a motorcycle accident on the Baltimore Beltway in Baltimore County, authorities reported. The latest fatalities occurred about 6 p.m. on I-97 near Benfield Road, when the driver lost control of a motorcycle at apparent high speed and was thrown from the vehicle, along with a passenger. Both landed on the highway shoulder and were pronounced dead at the scene, state police said.

MILWAUKEE -- As baby boomers become more interested in hip and knee replacements than motorcycles, Harley-Davidson Inc. might feel their pain. Even as it comes off the most profitable year in its history, the Milwaukee maker of the world's most famous motorcycles has challenges on several fronts: The graying of its prime audience. The median age for a Harley buyer is 47, compared with 38 for other motorcycle companies. Increased manufacturing costs. Harley is gearing up for labor contract talks in Milwaukee and Kansas City, Mo., after weathering a short but costly strike at its largest assembly plant in York, Pa. Some union members say the spirit of cooperation that once existed between labor and management is broken.

Ride on! -- Howard Community College will offer a new motorcycle riding course, "The Total Control Advanced Rider Clinic," the next level of training beyond the college's "Experienced Rider" course, for those who want to become exceptional riders. The course, sections of which begin Oct. 3 and Oct. 17, costs $295 and will be held at one of the college's training ranges. Theory and on-bike practice are included, and the focus will be on cornering techniques, throttle control, throttle-to-brake transitions, body position and other topics.

A 16-year-old Sabillasville girl died yesterday of injuries she suffered in a motorcycle accident Saturday, the Frederick County Sheriff's Department said.Kristy Lynn Buhrman of the 24000 block of Raven Rock Road was traveling east on Foxville Deerfield Road near Herman Hauver Road in Foxville about 4: 45 p.m. Saturday when her 1979 Honda motorcycle went into a ditch, the Sheriff's Department said.Buhrman suffered severe head trauma and was flown to Washington County Health Systems in Hagerstown, where she was pronounced dead at 11: 15 a.m. yesterday.

John W. Barker, a retired tool designer and welder who fulfilled a lifelong ambition when he bought his first motorcycle at age 65, died Wednesday from complications of Alzheimer's disease at Stella Maris Hospice. He was 84.Mr. Barker, a longtime Ednor Gardens resident who had lived in Phoenix, in Baltimore County, since 1996, was a tool designer at Martin-Marietta Corp. in Middle River for 38 years before retiring in 1972.He then was a welder at Bethlehem Steel Corp.'s Key Highway shipyard until he retired a second time in 1979.

Six homes evacuated after gas line puncturedSix homes were evacuated in West Annapolis at 10 a.m. yesterday after a city work crew digging a water main trench accidentally punctured a gas line, an Annapolis Fire Department spokesman said.The crew struck the line with a backhoe outside a home in the 200 block of Wardour Drive, said Capt. Leonard Clark of the Annapolis Fire Department. Shortly after 11 a.m., a Baltimore Gas and Electric Co. crew shut off the gas to the residence, a BGE spokeswoman said.

''In 'Pinky and Rex and the Double-Dad Weekend' by James Howe, Rex is very caring and Pinky is a friendly, helpful and pretty little girl. Rex and Pinky's dads were taking them camping but it started to rain. So they went to see an indoor tour. After that they went to a hotel. Where did they go next?''- Ashley ThomasLeith Walk Elementary``I think all kids should read 'The Mouse and the Motorcycle' by Beverly Cleary because it is a funny book. It is about a mouse that steals a boy's toy motorcycle and wrecks it in a trash can. The boyrescues the mouse and lets it ride themotorcycle all over the hotel where he is staying.

A 40-year-old Glen Burnie man riding his motorcycle died yesterday afternoon after trying to avoid a truck making a turn from Washington Boulevard in Elkridge, Howard County police said.The man -- whose name has not been released -- was traveling north on Washington Boulevard at 1: 15 p.m. when a truck traveling south on the boulevard turned left, in front of the motorcycle driver, onto Pine Avenue. The motorcyclist tried to avoid the truck but slid into it, said Sgt. Morris Carroll, police spokesman.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- In the black leather, exhaust pipe extravaganza known as Bike Week, close to a half-million motorcycle enthusiasts descended on this city of about 63,000 residents to partake of the engine revving, beer drinking and girlfriend flaunting of biker lore.Bars still post "No Colors" signs that forbid patrons from wearing identifying jackets that could provoke brawls between rival motorcycle clubs. Contests held throughout the city and the rest of Volusia County's coast during the annual 10-day event that ends today cater to the taste of the rough: "Ladies arm wrestling," "Biggest beer belly," "Great cleavage," "Best tattoo" and "Bikini pull-off."

Jeffrey S. Neral, a 17-year veteran Baltimore County police officer, died Sunday at Good Samaritan Hospital after being injured in a motorcycle accident. The Abingdon resident was 42. Officer Neral, who was riding his 2009 Harley Davidson south on Old Harford Road, was thrown from the motorcycle after it nearly collided with another automobile. He was born in Lancaster, Pa., and raised in Hollidaysburg, Pa. He was a 1986 graduate of Hollidaysburg High School, where he had excelled at varsity track and field.

Stadium Place water tested for Legionnaire's disease 1 Water samples were taken by state officials from more than 100 locations during the weekend in an attempt to identify the source of last week's outbreak of Legionnaire's disease at Stadium Place, a senior living facility on the former site of Memorial Stadium, a Baltimore City health spokesman said Monday. The spokesman, Brian Schleter, said there have been no additional reports of illness from the outbreak, which has sickened four and killed one. - Meredith Cohn Pedestrian dies after being hit by a vehicle in Essex 2 Police in Baltimore County said Monday that they are not likely to pursue charges against the driver of a vehicle that struck and killed a pedestrian in Essex.

Motorcycle thieves using stolen minivans Thieves have a new tactic for taking motorcycles: hauling them off in stolen minivans. In Baltimore County alone, six have been stolen since July 13. Thieves targeted a dozen minivans, stealing them or attempting to steal them, county police said. Investigators with the Regional Auto Theft Task Force say that if a thief can't easily disable a lock and take a motorcycle, they'll often steal a minivan, haul the bike away and remove the chains or locks elsewhere.

Wesley Myers used Craigslist to sell his $8,000 Honda motorcycle and watched as the man who came to buy ended up stealing it. The victim's mother, Barbara Myers, used Craigslist to get the bike back a few days later. The middleman was a Baltimore County police detective who uses the Internet swap-shop to hunt for tips on everything from stolen cars to stolen tractors, finding a treasure-trove of pilfered vehicles popping up for sale in the unregulated world of cyberspace. "People steal and post it on Craigslist," said Cpl. Steve Sunderland of the Baltimore Regional Auto Theft Team.

Harley-Davidson Inc. said yesterday that it will cut 1,100 jobs over two years, close some facilities and consolidate others as it grapples with a slowdown in motorcycle sales. The Milwaukee-based company also reported its fourth-quarter profit fell nearly 60 percent to $77.8 million, and said it is slashing motorcycle shipments this year to cope with reduced demand. The motorcycle maker said it will consolidate two engine and transmission plants in Milwaukee into a suburban facility there.

Man dies in accidental house fire near Annapolis A man died in a fire that destroyed a waterfront home in a community near Annapolis, authorities said. The two-alarm fire started accidentally about 1 a.m. at a home in the 1100 block of Mace Road, in the Bay Ridge community south of Annapolis, according to Battalion Chief Matthew Tobia, an Anne Arundel County Fire Department spokesman. Firefighters discovered that a man, identified as Kendall Brown, 42, had died inside the house, Tobia said.

State police are searching for a motorcyclist who fled from the scene of a crash that killed one person in Howard County on Saturday. The crash occurred about 7:30 p.m. on southbound Interstate 95 just north of Route 100, where a group of six to eight motorcyclists had been driving recklessly at high speeds, according to police. The driver of a 2006 Suzuki GSX-R750, Wayne N. Thomas, 27, of the 4500 block of 24th Ave. in Mount Rainier, was pronounced dead at the scene. A preliminary investigation found that one of the motorcyclists in the group, Thomas, lost control and went off the left side of the roadway, striking the guardrail of the center median.

Getting There readers had plenty to say about my column on interchange design and motorcycle safety. David M. Fick of Arnold weighed in with what seems to be useful advice to his fellow bikers: As a motorcycle rider, I think we also have a responsibility to be more visible. I have a headlight modulator on both of my motorcycles, and have separate driving lights in addition to having my "flashing" high beam on constantly. The headlight modulators are completely legal, and have a daylight sensor that turns them off at night, so the headlight functions normally.

Maryland was one of 32 states to post decreases last year in the number of driving fatalities caused by drunken drivers, according to a report released yesterday by the federal government. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Maryland posted a 5.3 percent decrease in alcohol-impaired driving fatalities. Nationally, there was a 3.7 percent decline. In all, the state had 10 fewer drunken-driving deaths in 2007 - 179 - than in 2006. Across the nation, there were almost 500 fewer deaths in crashes involving drivers with blood-alcohol levels of 0.08 percent or more - 12,998 - than in 2006.

Annapolis police were investigating a fatal accident that occurred near the U.S. Naval Academy after a federal police officer tried to pull over a speeding motorcycle, authorities said yesterday. The crash occurred about 12:50 a.m. Saturday at Monterey and Ridgely avenues when the driver of the motorcycle went through a stop sign and hit a 1996 Oldsmobile Ciera, police said. A Department of Defense police officer assigned to the Naval Academy first noticed the motorcycle speeding near Gate 8, police said.