Tow Truck

The co-driver of a tractor-trailer who stepped outside the rig to make an adjustment on it while it was parked along Interstate 70 near the Frederick County, Md., line died Monday afternoon after the tractor-trailer was struck from behind by a tow truck and she was thrown into a guardrail, according to police. The woman was pronounced dead at Meritus Medical Center near Hagerstown, according to Maryland State Police Sgt. Stacey Cain. The driver of the tractor-trailer, which was heading up South Mountain, pulled off to the side of I-70 near the 37-mile marker because the rig was overheating, Cain said.

A tow-truck driver had to be rescued Thursday morning when his truck got stranded in high water off a one-lane bridge near the 21300 block of Leiters Mill Road north of Hagerstown. Rescuers with Washington County Special Operations pushed a raft through waist-deep water about 75 yards out to the truck, where the driver was waiting for help in the front seat. The driver got into the boat, and rescuers pulled him back to the roadway at about 11:15 a.m. Leitersburg Volunteer Fire Co. Deputy Chief Robert Myerly said the driver, whose name was unavailable, refused medical treatment at the scene.

HYATTSTOWN, Md. - A Hagerstown man died in a car accident early Saturday on Interstate 270 in Hyattstown, Maryland State Police said. Andre Trinh, 57, was killed when the car he was driving crashed into the back of a tow truck at about 12:30 a.m., according to a news release from the State Police's Rockville, Md., Barrack. Trinh was driving north on I-270 in a 2003 Toyota Tundra when, police allege, the 2004 Ford tow truck ahead of him attempted to make a U-turn onto an emergency vehicle crossover north of Comus Road, according to the release.

HAGERSTOWN -- In an effort to control the high price that tow truck companies charge to haul away illegally parked vehicles, the Hagerstown City Council is considering an ordinance that would set a ceiling on the fee. Hagerstown Police Chief Arthur Smith told the council on Tuesday that some people who had their vehicles towed during a recent concert downtown were charged $250 by local tow truck companies. The companies required cash, which, given the hour of night, made it difficult for several motorists to come up with the money, he said.

Waynesboro man pinned between car, tow truck A Waynesboro, Pa., man suffered minor injuries when he was pinned between his car and a tow truck Wednesday night in Peters Township, Pennsylvania State Police said. Foster Souders, 71, of Waynesboro, was taken to Meritus Medical Center east of Hagerstown with injuries to his lower torso, according to a state police news release. Troopers said the tow truck met Souders at 8:37 p.m. to help him change a flat tire on his Suzuki Foreza in the 15000 block of Buchanan Trail West.

FREDERICK, Md. - A Hagerstown man whose motorcycle crashed into a parked tow truck a week ago died Thursday, the Frederick County Sheriff's Department said. Daniel L. Merson, 40, died at the University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, the sheriff's department said Friday. The sheriff's department said Merson was riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle west on Baltimore Road on July 30. About 7:30 p.m., near Md. 144 east of Frederick, the motorcycle went off the road and hit a tow truck parked on the shoulder, police said.

Traffic is backed up in the southbound lanes of Interstate 81 near the Halfway exit while a tow truck removes a vehicle that drove off the roadway, a Washington County Emergency Services supervisor said. The supervisor said minor injuries were reported as a result of the crash, which occurred shortly before 10 a.m. Further details were not immediately available.

One person was taken to the hospital after a car flipped over on Interstate 70 near Hancock, Maryland State Police said Tuesday morning. Trooper Shaffer of the state police said the car was going westbound on I-70 about a mile east of Exit 1 and flipped over. The car rolled across the middle of the interstate and struck the guardrail on the right shoulder of eastbound I-70, he said. Shaffer said the driver of the car was taken to War Memorial Hospital in Berkeley Springs, W.Va., at 9:10 a.m. as a precautionary measure.

A car went through the front window of the Smoker Friendly tobacco store on Dual Highway in Hagerstown shortly before 11 p.m. Monday after the driver hit the gas pedal instead of the brake, Hagerstown Police said. The female driver, who had just gotten her driver's permit, was practicing with a licensed driver, police said. After the crash, a tow truck arrived to help, but a man got into the car, put it in reverse and backed it out. Both occupants of the car were wearing seat belts and no one was injured, police said.

Two people were taken to the hospital Thursday afternoon after their car landed upside-down at the corner of Washington Avenue and Nottingham Road, Hagerstown Police Officer Brenton Saur said. Names and conditions of the victims were not being released, Saur said. The car had a shattered windshield, crushed trunk and flattened hood, Saur said. Clothes and litter from the vehicle were strewn around the lawn in which it landed. Emergency personnel and a towing service righted the car. Police diverted traffic from Washington Avenue to make way for the tow truck.

Traffic is backed up in the southbound lanes of Interstate 81 near the Halfway exit while a tow truck removes a vehicle that drove off the roadway, a Washington County Emergency Services supervisor said. The supervisor said minor injuries were reported as a result of the crash, which occurred shortly before 10 a.m. Further details were not immediately available.

One person was taken to the hospital after an accident involving a taxi and a pickup truck at the intersection of Burhans Boulevard and Chase Street south of the railroad underpass Thursday morning, Mike Alderton of the Hagerstown Police Department said. The 7 a.m. accident occurred when a Chevrolet Silverado heading south on Burhans Boulevard crossed the middle of the road and collided with the front of a Chevrolet Cavalier taxi from C&R Sedan that was headed north, Alderton said.

Waynesboro man pinned between car, tow truck A Waynesboro, Pa., man suffered minor injuries when he was pinned between his car and a tow truck Wednesday night in Peters Township, Pennsylvania State Police said. Foster Souders, 71, of Waynesboro, was taken to Meritus Medical Center east of Hagerstown with injuries to his lower torso, according to a state police news release. Troopers said the tow truck met Souders at 8:37 p.m. to help him change a flat tire on his Suzuki Foreza in the 15000 block of Buchanan Trail West.

A tractor-trailer that crashed in the median of Interstate 70 west of the Interstate 81 interchange delayed traffic for about 2 1/2 hours Monday, Maryland State Police said. The accident occurred shortly after 11 a.m., when the tractor-trailer went off the roadway and crashed in the median, according to a state police news release. Troopers said the accident prompted authorities to shut down one lane of I-70 in each direction until about 12:30 p.m. At that time, the eastbound lanes were reopened, but one lane of westbound traffic was closed until shortly before 2 p.m. so a tow truck could remove the tractor-trailer from the median, police said.

One person was taken to Jefferson Memorial Hospital in Ranson, W.Va., following an accident near Harpers Ferry on Wednesday morning, a supervisor for Washington County Emergency Services said. Three vehicles were involved in the accident on the U.S. 340 bridge across the Potomac River, the supervisor said. Units from Washington County and Jefferson County were on the scene, according to the supervisor. At 10:15 a.m., one lane of the two-lane bridge was closed, as police were awaiting a tow truck for one of the vehicles, the supervisor said.

Krumpe Donut Alley Rally exceeded expectations To the editor: The Krumpe Donut Alley Rally 5K on Friday, Aug. 12, 2011, surpassed all of our expectations with 343 entrants in the inaugural run. It was exciting and thrilling to see so many individuals become involved in a charitable event in our DoNut Alley. The Krumpe's Donut Alley Rally twweam would like to thank everyone who participated. To all of our runners, volunteers and employees - we couldn't have done it without you, as well as Racine MultiSports for directing the event, the City of Hagerstown, the Hagerstown Police Department, Community Rescue Service, Rose Hill Cemetery, The Herald-Mail, Hagerstown Fire Police, Northern Avenue and Funkstown American Legions, race announcer Joe Jefferson, The Tonehounds for their wonderful music, all of our generous community business sponsors, Miss West Virginia 2011 Spenser Wempe, WJEJ radio station and all of our dedicated Krumpe's Donut fans.

A Maryland State Police team that specializes in commercial-vehicle accident investigations is continuing its probe into a crash of a tractor-trailer and a tow truck on Interstate 70 Monday afternoon that resulted in the death of a Dundalk, Md. woman, state police said Wednesday. The victim was identified as Corethia Areia Cross, 56, who died after she was thrown into a guardrail while attempting to make a repair on the 2005 Volvo tractor-trailer she and another driver had pulled over to the shoulder on eastbound I-70 at South Mountain, a police news release said.

The co-driver of a tractor-trailer who stepped outside the rig to make an adjustment on it while it was parked along Interstate 70 near the Frederick County, Md., line died Monday afternoon after the tractor-trailer was struck from behind by a tow truck and she was thrown into a guardrail, according to police. The woman was pronounced dead at Meritus Medical Center near Hagerstown, according to Maryland State Police Sgt. Stacey Cain. The driver of the tractor-trailer, which was heading up South Mountain, pulled off to the side of I-70 near the 37-mile marker because the rig was overheating, Cain said.

One person was taken to the hospital after a car flipped over on Interstate 70 near Hancock, Maryland State Police said Tuesday morning. Trooper Shaffer of the state police said the car was going westbound on I-70 about a mile east of Exit 1 and flipped over. The car rolled across the middle of the interstate and struck the guardrail on the right shoulder of eastbound I-70, he said. Shaffer said the driver of the car was taken to War Memorial Hospital in Berkeley Springs, W.Va., at 9:10 a.m. as a precautionary measure.

A woman and a 2-year old child were taken to Meritus Medical Center after a car flipped over on westbound Interstate 70, Trooper First Class Bittinger of the Maryland State Police said. The accident happened between the Greencastle Pike (Md. 63) and Clear Spring exits on I-70. Bittinger says he was notified of the wreck at 9:11 a.m. and arrived at the scene at 9:15. The woman and the child were taken to the hospital for precautionary measures at 9:50 a.m., according to Bittinger.