Icy roads cause accidents

February 25, 1999

By KIMBERLY YAKOWSKI / Staff Writer

photo: RIC DUGAN / staff photographer

In bed with a cold, Kathleen Bohrer was awakened from a deep sleep Wednesday morning by the sound of a crash.

At first, Bohrer thought the noise was the sound of her grandson Liam's crib collapsing. But she soon discovered that a 1998 GMC Sonoma pickup truck had slammed into the front wall of the 10139 Sharpsburg Pike home.

"It was a loud crash that kept on going," she said.

The 8:30 a.m. accident was one of several in which police said icy road conditions played a role.

The truck driven by Katrina Anderson, 25, of Sharpsburg was traveling east on Rench Road when it slid through a stop sign and across Sharpsburg Pike and struck the house, Maryland State Police said.

Police cited Anderson, who was traveling with three passengers, for driving at a speed greater than reasonable for road conditions.

Anderson sustained minor injuries but was not admitted to the Washington County Hospital. Two of her passengers, Donja Marie Anderson, 4, and James Eugene Anderson, 5, both of Sharpsburg were treated at Washington County Hospital and released.

Insurance adjusters at the Bohrer home Wednesday were unable to give a cost estimate for the damages.

In another accident, a tractor-trailer carrying hazardous materials overturned on the eastbound median of Interstate 70 east of the Conococheague bridge at 2:54 a.m. Maryland State Police said the road was snow-covered.

The fast lanes in both directions of the interstate were closed while the Washington County Emergency Services special operations unit cleaned up the spill. The lanes were reopened at 10:40 a.m.

The driver, Peter J. Rosenbach, 40, of Baltimore, was treated and released from Washington County Hospital.

Two cars sustained minor damages after a driver slid on the snow-covered bridge over Antietam Creek on Alternate U.S. 40 at 9:50 p.m. Wednesday, according to Maryland State Police.

Police said Rachel Joy Martin, 23, of 508 S. Cannon St., was heading east on Alternate U.S. 40 when her car fishtailed on the icy bridge.

Her car collided with a westbound car driven by Stephen Guertler, 37, of 11321 Manse Road, police said.

The crash at the Bohrer house left a hole about 3 feet wide and 2 feet high that exposed the home's interior to the elements. Firefighters from Funkstown removed the pickup truck and stapled plastic over the hole.

The family has lived in the home for 12 years. The two-story brick house was built in 1922 and is valued at $135,000.

Bohrer said she expects to be able to live in the home while it is being repaired.

She and her husband Kenneth said they harbor no hard feelings against the driver.

"It's just an awkward situation and an inconvenience," said Kenneth Bohrer.

The temperatures reached 36 degrees on Wednesday. The low was 18 degrees.

More snow was expected to fall Wednesday night and there was a 70 percent chance that 1 to 3 inches would fall in the area today, according to the National Weather Service in Sterling, Va.

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