Rail Train

Crystal Coleman knew something was wrong with her taxes. Though she had had them prepared professionally, the refund didn't seem large enough. Yesterday morning, her tax records in hand, the 45-year-old West Baltimore resident boarded a Maryland Rail Commuter service train bound for Washington wondering whether to call the government for help. But she wouldn't have to. On the way to her job as a community supervision officer for the Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency for the District of Columbia, she was surprised to hear the conductor announce that representatives of the Internal Revenue Service would be providing free tax help right on the train.

Two people were critically injured yesterday when they were struck by Mass Transit Administration rail cars in separate incidents -- one of them an apparent suicide attempt, officials said.In Baltimore County, a 51-year-old man jumped in front of a train at the Old Court Metro Station about 11:45 a.m., said MTA spokeswoman Dianna Rosborough. He was in critical but stable condition last night at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center, the hospital said.In the city, Eva M. Schaefer, 63, was hit by a northbound Central Light Rail train at the Westport station about 4 p.m. Ms. Rosborough said the woman -- whose condition was described as critical and unstable -- had stepped off a southbound train and was walking across the tracks.

The state medical examiner's office has identified the woman who died a week ago after being struck by a light rail train in Baltimore County, police said Monday. Janet Elizabeth Tennekoon, 66, of the unit-block of Nightingale Way in Timonium, died on Dec. 12 after she was struck by a northbound train on the Central Maryland corridor, just north of Lutherville, police said. The medical examiner has not yet determined the cause and manner of death, police said. The woman was struck around 7:15 a.m. on the tracks and pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Maryland Transit Administration, which operates the light rail trains.

Before he wrote "Ehrlich's stance opposing light rail could backfire" (June 17) Michael Dresser should have contacted the businessmen who had businesses in the Cromwell Shopping Center at the Glen Burnie end of the present Baltimore light rail system when it opened. His research may have taken a while, because the majority of those no longer have businesses there — the crime increase drove them away!! It was just too easy to climb on a light rail train, in a car where no driver observes the boarding passengers, and get away easily.

A light rail train conductor was taken to a trauma center after a crash with a tractor-trailer Tuesday morning in Cockeysville that disrupted service between Timonium and Hunt Valley. The accident happened about 9:20 a.m. According to Baltimore County police spokesman Mike Hill, a tractor-trailer heading north on Gilroy Road attempted to make a right turn against a signal into McCormick's Hunt Valley plant when a southbound light rail train struck the truck, pushing it down the tracks and splitting the truck's trailer in half.

A 49-year-old man is recovering from multiple broken bones and fractures after being struck by a light rail train in North Baltimore on Saturday night, according to a Maryland Transit Administration spokesman. Emergency responders were called to the tracks just south of the Woodberry station about 8:45 p.m. Saturday and found the injured man, who has not been publicly identified, said Terry Owens, administration spokesman. The man had been "walking on or near the tracks" when he was struck by a northbound train, Owens said.

Officials confirm third H1N1 death in Maryland A third person in Maryland has died from swine flu, health officials said. Officials did not name the person, or give a gender, age or hometown. The person was an adult from the Eastern Shore who health officials said had a serious underlying medical condition in addition to the H1N1 influenza virus. Although the person died in June, the final cause of the death was recently determined to be associated with the virus, officials said. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed 732 swine flu cases statewide as of last week, although that may be only a fracture of those infected with the virus.

Maryland Rail Commuter train service on the Brunswick and Camden lines will be altered today because of a forecast of a winter ice storm, Maryland Transportation Administration officials announced yesterday. With freezing rain and ice accumulations expected, only MARC trains with an "S" at the top of their displays will operate. The Penn Line will operate on a regular schedule, but its runs may be reduced later depending on the path and severity of the storm, officials said. A severe storm can potentially result in extensive delays.

Bea Gaddy, the longtime advocate for Baltimore's poor and hungry, was in good condition yesterday after surgery to remove a cancerous breast.Surgeons at Johns Hopkins Hospital performed a separate procedure to stabilize her broken left ankle. Gaddy, 65, is expected to remain in the hospital for several days.Gaddy revealed Tuesday that she had cancer, saying she wanted to get the word out that women should be screened regularly. Her cancer wasn't detected until she was hospitalized with the broken ankle and doctors discovered that cancer that had spread to nearby lymph nodes.

A 19-year-old Baltimore art student suffered facial injuries yesterday morning when she and a friend, in an attempt to avoid being struck by a light-rail train near Camden Station, stepped into the path of a train going the opposite direction.Nancy Hiebel of the 1400 block of Eutaw Place was taken to the Maryland Shock Trauma Center with fractures to her right cheek, a family member said. She was undergoing reconstructive surgery last night."She's going to be OK. All that's really hurt is her cheekbone," said Meredith Van Asdlen, 20, Ms. Hiebel's stepsister.