Vehicles

DETROIT -- Ford Motor Co. again is facing the threat of a boycott of its vehicles in the United States. The American Family Association, along with 41 other organizations nationwide, sent a letter to Chairman William Clay Ford Jr., yesterday giving the automaker an ultimatum to stop supporting homosexual groups and pull its ads from gay publications or risk a boycott of Ford products by the conservative Christian group. "We strongly suggest that Ford remove itself from involvement in the cultural war and apply its resources to building the best product possible," AFA Chairman Donald E. Wildmon said in the letter, which was sent Tuesday.

As of 8:30 a.m. Thursday, traffic was slow on U.S. 50 westbound at the Capital Beltway, due to an accident involving six vehicles. According to the Maryland Transit Administration, light rail service is suspended between the Timonium and Hunt Valley stations due to construction work. A shuttle bus service is available instead. There are no other major delays reported on Baltimore area transit systems.

About 50 battery- and solar-powered vehicles will swing through Maryland today and tomorrow as part of the Tour de Sol, a weeklong road rally from New York City to Washington to demonstrate the practicality of electric cars and trucks.The vehicles, which set out from New York on Sunday, are scheduled to reach Chesapeake City in Cecil County this morning, after departing from Pottstown, Pa. They will travel south on the Eastern Shore tomorrow and cross the Bay Bridge to Sandy Point State Park, where the cars and trucks will be on display overnight.

A city police officer was taken to Mercy Medical Center after his police cruiser was rear-ended by another vehicle on the southbound Jones Falls Expressway late Monday afternoon, according to a police spokesman. The officer was on the side of the roadway near West 29th Street writing a report on a separate accident when his cruiser was struck, said Sgt. Anthony Smith. The officer did not have apparent injuries, but was taken to the hospital to be checked by medical personnel as a precaution, Smith said.

A 12-year-old boy from Baltimore County has been charged with throwing red clay bricks that struck seven vehicles on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway south of Interstate 895, Maryland State Police said. The adolescent is charged with felony assault, reckless endangerment and malicious destruction of property for each vehicle struck Wednesday afternoon, said Trooper John Bedell. Nobody was hurt, but the vehicles were damaged. Police said they suspect that two more youths may be involved in damaging the cars.

Howard County police are offering a $500 reward for information that would help convict vandals who damaged six vehicles -- including one belonging to County Executive Ken Ulman and his wife, Jaki -- parked outside Wilde Lake High School for a Columbia Celebration of the Arts event in the school's Jim Rouse Theatre on Saturday night . Police spokeswoman Sherry Lewelellyn said the vehicles were parked in the same area of the lot between 7 p.m. and 10:30...

At least one person was injured yesterday evening when five vehicles, including a tractor-trailer, collided in the Harbor Tunnel, authorities said. The southbound tube was closed for maintenance at the time of the accident, about 7:30 p.m., and the open tube was handling traffic in both directions, police said. According to an initial account from police, the accident was triggered by one vehicle crossing the center line and colliding with an oncoming vehicle. Three other vehicles, including the tractor-trailer, also became involved.

State police in Westminster are advising owners of all-terrain vehicles to take extra care when storing the popular four-wheelers, saying more than a half-dozen have been stolen since the beginning of summer.Thieves pried a lock from a Hampstead homeowner's shed in the 900 block of Houcksville Road about 1 a.m. Sunday and stole two all-terrain vehicles, state police said.The loss was estimated at $6,850.Troopers at the Westminster barracks say owners should place the four-wheelers out of sight in locked buildings when not using them, and chain the vehicles, if possible, to a stable post within the building.

Northbound Interstate 95 is closed at Route 100 in Howard County because of a tractor-trailer overturning about 3 p.m. Thursday, police said. The crash will likely keep the highway closed through the evening rush hour, Maryland State Police said in a statement shortly before 5 p.m. Traffic is backed up to around Exit 35A onto Route 216. Drivers should avoid the area south of Elkridge, police said, because all four lanes are closed to...

Harford County sheriff's deputies and Maryland State Police report: Aberdeen Money was stolen Tuesday in the 1400 block of South Philadelphia Boulevard. People were trying to break into a residence Wednesday in the 300 block of Mayberry Drive. Aberdeen police report: Andrew P. Garnett, 47, of the 1800 block of Grempler Way in Edgewood, was arrested on a bench warrant Wednesday in a case in which he was charged with driving under the influence of alcohol per se. Vehicles were racing March 28 in the parking lot of Walmart, in the 600 block of South Philadelphia Boulevard.

The Baltimore police officer who was thrown over the side of Interstate 83 and fell 20 feet after a car crashed into her vehicle as she helped a stranded motorist has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the driver and the owner of the vehicle. The driver, 23-year-old Robert R. Vanderford, is scheduled to appear in District Court this week for a trial on traffic charges related to the June 21, 2011, incident. The charges include failure to control vehicle speed to avoid a collision, failure to reduce speed in dangerous weather and driving while his license was suspended in another state.

Two adult drivers, including a Baltimore City police officer, were transported to the hospital Sunday afternoon following a two-car accident in the 800 block of Walker Avenue, near The Alameda. According to witnesses, the city police car and a burgundy sedan collided on Walker Avenue, and the police car knocked down part of a wooden fence. The sedan was driven by a woman, according to one witness. Neither driver appeared to be suffering life-threatening injuries, and the officer was seen walking around after the accident, according to a witness.

A 42-year-old man died early Thursday morning from injuries sustained after the vehicle he was driving hit a tree in the Glen Burnie area. Rafet Gerigiden of the unit block of Marley Neck Road in Glen Burnie was trapped in the vehicle with extensive injuries and pronounced dead at the scene on Route 10 near Furnace Branch Road, police said. Officers responded at 1:43 a.m. to a report of a collision and found a 2004 Ford Ranger pickup off the road in the woods. The initial investigation showed that the driver was traveling south on Route 10, when his vehicle left the road for unknown reasons and continued into a wooded area, until it struck a tree.

As of 9 a.m. Thursday, traffic was slow on I-895 southbound near Lombard Street, due to an accident involving three vehicles. Emergency roadwork was blocking traffic on the ramp from I-70 eastbound near I-695 in Baltimore County. King Avenue was closed near Franklin Square Drive in Rosedale due to repair work on a broken water main. Light rail service is suspended between the Timonium and Hunt Valley stations due to construction work. A shuttle bus service is available instead.

It takes a lot of cars and trucks to run a town like Baltimore, and the city government boasts a fleet consisting of more than 3,600 vehicles, many sporting the familiar black-and-yellow municipal seal. A spreadsheet containing the data is available here . In response to a public information request, the city gave The Baltimore Sun a spreadsheet with details about all of them (minus undercover or unmarked police cars to avoid interfering with criminal investigations).

Baltimore's spending board approved Wednesday three settlements totaling $340,000 in claims made against the city, including a civil suit stemming from a 2007 accident in which a fire truck collided with a car, leaving three people dead. The five member Board of Estimates, which includes Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, City Council President Bernard C. "Jack" Young and City Comptroller Joan Pratt, voted unanimously to approve the three settlements. Relatives of victims in the 2007 crash — a husband, wife and a friend — will split $40,000.

Howard County officers snagged seven drunk drivers at an overnight checkpoint in Laurel, police said. Nearly 750 vehicles passed through the checkpoint at the Midway Plaza along Route 1 and 19 were flagged for further questioning, according to police. In addition to the drunk drivers caught, police charged one with a drug offense and three for driving on a suspended license. annie.linskey@baltsun.com twitter.com/annielinskey

As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, traffic was slow on Route 100 eastbound at I-95, due to an accident involving four vehicles. An accident was slowing traffic on Route 32 westbound near Shaker Road in Howard County. U.S. 1 was closed near Shuresville Road and the Conowingo Dam in Harford County, due to an accident. There were no major delays reported on Baltimore area transit systems.

Howard County fire fighters put out a one-alarm fire that was reported early Wednesday morning inside a state-owned vehicle repair shop in Dayton. According to the Howard County Department of Fire and Rescue Services, crews responded to an alarm around 3 a.m. in the 4400 block of Route 32 and found a vehicle on fire inside the repair shop, causing heavy smoke. The six-bay garage is owned and operated by the State Highway Administration. The fire was extinguished within half an hour, causing little damage to the building and no reported injuries, according to the fire department.