Beach Updates by Alan Henney

BICYCLIST KILLED, 2 OTHERS INJURED IN WEEKEND ACCIDENTS

It’s been a dangerous weekend for bicyclists on the shore this
weekend.  A 44-year-old Maryland man was killed Saturday repairing his
bicycle on the shoulder north of Indian River Inlet around 7:40 a.m.
He was pronounced dead at the scene.

A state police news release says the man’s bicycle chain broke and he
stopped to repair it.  That’s when he was struck and killed by an
18-year-old driving a 2002 Pontiac Grand Am.  He supposedly had fallen
asleep while driving.

http://www.henney.com/weekend10/fatalrt1bike.htm

Another bicyclist was struck and critically injured on Holly Grove
Road Saturday night in the West Ocean City area.  A woman called 9-1-1
around 10:45 p.m. and said she believed she had just struck a
bicyclist on Holly Grove Road just past Ocean Gateway.  The man was
flown to a trauma center.

In a third accident, a woman reportedly fell from a bicycle on Fairway
Boulevard at Railway Road in the Ocean View area.  It happened just
before 10 a.m. Saturday.  She suffered a head injury and was flown by
the state police helicopter to a trauma center.




FATAL MOTORCYCLE CRASH

A 17-year-old was killed Friday while riding a motorcycle on U.S.
Route 113 at Route 589 around 9:50 p.m.  That’s in the Showell area.
He was reportedly the son of a Cambridge, Md. police officer.




2 MEN FLOWN TO TRAUMA CENTERS AFTER SURF INJURIES

A man struck his forehead on the surf in front of the Clarion Resort
Fontainebleau in Ocean City around 12:25 p.m. Thursday.  When rescuers
got to him, he said his arms felt heavy and were tingling.  He was
unable to keep a handgrip on anything.  They flew him from Northside
Park to a trauma center.

A 21-year-old man reported tingling in his hands and was unable to
move or feel his toes after he was injured in the surf.  It happened
Friday around 3:40 p.m. at 145th Street.  He too was flown by the
state police helicopter to a trauma center.




WOMAN INJURED IN JOLLY ROGER AMUSEMENT PARK

A 42-year-old woman was injured at the kiddie pool near the main
entrance to Splash Mountain in the Jolly Roger Amusement Park.  It
happened around 2:10 p.m. Thursday.  The paramedic said she went down
the slid but couldn’t remember exactly what happened.  Her husband
said she suffered “quite a jolt” at the bottom of the slide.  She
suffered a neck/back injury with numbness and tingling in both hands.
She was flown to a trauma center.




FIREFIGHTERS BATTLE HOUSE FIRE OUTSIDE LEWES

Shortly after a thunderstorm rolled through the area, firefighters
responded to a house fire in the 34700 block of Anchor Way, which is
outside Lewes.  The fire was reported just before 3 p.m. on Sunday.
The fire was in the attic, ceiling and eventually came through the
roof.

http://www.lewesfire.com/gallery.cfm?id=167




STATE POLICE LOOK FOR FEMALE BANDIT

State police were searching Sunday for a woman driving a maroon Ford
Escort with Delaware tags.  She was described as heavy set, about
5ft4-6, with brown hair.  She had fled the Milton Foodlion with a
black bag and was supposedly wanted for robbery.




WEEKEND TRAFFIC WOES ON ROUTE 50 IN TALBOT

It was a messy weekend for beach traffic on Route 50.  Around 2:30
p.m. on Saturday, wires came down across Route 50 at 404, closing all
lanes of both highways.  That’s in the Wye Mills area of Talbot
County.  A field fire was also sparked in the median as well.  Police
detoured traffic around the major intersection while the roads were
shut down for about 90 minutes.

A fatal crash closed westbound Route 50 on Sunday for more than an
hour.  It happened around 8:30 a.m. in the Trappe area of Talbot
County.




DEAD DOLPHIN WASHES ASHORE

A dead 7-foot-long dolphin washed ashore Saturday at 76th Street in
Ocean City around 1:20 p.m.  A marine mammal expert was consulted and
the public works was requested to remove the remains.




ANGOLA BOATING ACCIDENT WITH MEDEVAC

A 22-year-old woman was injured in a boating accident on Herring Creek
in the Angola area.  She was reportedly on a tube being pulled by a
boat when it struck another boat around 12:25 p.m. on Sunday.  She was
unconscious for about five seconds before being pulled to shore.  A
paramedic’s radio report described her as upset but able to answer
questions.  She was flown to Peninsula Regional Medical Center.




COAST GUARD RESCUES STRANDED SAILBOAT

A 42-foot sailboat started sinking around 1 a.m. Saturday after it
struck a sandbar about 100 yards from the beach at Assateague.
Assistance came from the park ranges, two different Coast Guard
stations, and a Coast Guard helicopter from Atlantic City.

The helicopter’s rescue swimmer was lowered to the beach with a pump.
He swam to the sailboat and helped pump it out.  The three people on
board were not injured.

http://www.piersystem.com/go/doc/651/166200/




INTOXICATED BOATER RUNS AGROUND

Ocean City firefighters and the Coast Guard spent more than an hour
trying to find a boater who reportedly ran aground in the bay while
traveling at high speed in the area of 21st and 26th Streets.  An
eyewitness had reported the incident around 12:05 a.m. Saturday.  The
Coast Guard eventually found the boat.  It was a 20-foot white hull
Century piloted by an intoxicated man.

INTOXICATED COUPLE TRASHES HOTEL ROOM, FLEES TOWN

It’s every landlord’s nightmare… intoxicated tenants angered after
being told to maintain order, go on a destructive rampage.  That
happened Sunday at the Atlantic Sands.  Rehoboth Beach police had
responded in the afternoon to speak with an intoxicated man and woman
who were staying in the hotel.

The officers returned around 6:10 p.m. after the hotel management
found the room trashed.  The couple is suspected to have fled town in
a maroon Dodge Durango with Maryland tags.




PEDESTRIAN STRUCK IN DEWEY

A 23-year-old man was struck by a vehicle on Route 1 in Dewey Beach
Sunday.  It happened around 1:55 a.m. at Read Avenue near Grotto
Pizza.  When officials arrived, they found him conscious with a cut to
the forehead.  The striking vehicle remained at the scene.  The man
was taken to Beebe Hospital in stable condition.




WEEKEND POLICE CHASES

Police along the shore were involved in at least two chases this
weekend.

An intoxicated driver fled from Ocean City police around 2:15 a.m.
Sunday.  The chase ended when he drove over the center island on
Coastal Highway at 59th Street.  The driver was arrested and police
called for the fire department because his vehicle started smoking.

Several suspects in an SUV fled from Delaware State Police on Route 1
around 2:45 a.m. Friday.  The chase started outside Lewes and ended in
Slaughter Beach, where the suspects were finally captured.




WEEKEND WATER INCIDENTS

Rescuers responded to several water incidents this weekend, including
twice to White House Beach off Long Neck Road.

A 16-year-old suicidal girl was reported 100 yards from White House
Beach standing in the Indian River Bay around 8:20 p.m. Saturday.  She
was supposedly armed with a knife and refused to return to shore.

A private boat reported to have her family on board came to her aid
and took her aboard.  Spectators gathered on shore; so many that one
fire department official said he wants to “make sure wherever that
boat is going, there are no people... it's like [they’re watching] a
bunch of fireworks!"  The girl was in an ambulance by 8:45 p.m.

Many of these same agencies found themselves headed back to White
House Beach around 10:25 a.m. Sunday when two people with a yellow
kayak were reported yelling.  A half-submerged kayak was being towed
to shore by a Jet Ski as the Indian River fire department arrived.
Both boaters were safely ashore by 10:40 a.m.

Another kayak capsized around 11 a.m. Sunday about 200 yards from the
Fenwick Island State Park bathhouse.  The Ocean City Beach Patrol was
already alerted to the incident when Delaware rescuers responded.  The
kayaker reportedly got caught in a rip, but was assisted to shore by
the guards.

A surfer was reported in distress in the Ocean City Inlet around 5:30
p.m. Friday.  A couple lifeguards went out and the 21-foot Coast Guard
rescue boat brought all three to the Coast Guard station.

Two men were reported missing on a Jet Ski trip from 32nd Street to
Seacrets and back.  They were discovered with their disabled Jet Ski
around 10:10 p.m. Friday near Ocean City’s Route 90 bridge by Maryland
Natural Resources Police.

Another Jet Ski struck a pier at 52nd Street in Ocean City around
11:30 a.m. Sunday.  A man, woman and child were reportedly involved,
but only the man was hurt.  He suffered a leg injury.

The Ocean City Coast Guard assisted a couple recreational or fishing
vessels this weekend taking on water several miles out in the
Atlantic.  Both made it safely to shore with Coast Guard assistance.

A news release from the Maryland Natural Resources Police says July
accounted for a third of the state’s boating accidents during 2006:

http://tinyurl.com/36dklb




DEAD SEA TURTLE FOUND ON NORTH SHORES BEACH

DNREC park rangers called for the Marine Education, Research &
Rehabilitation Institute Saturday morning when a dead sea turtle was
discovered on the beach.  The remains were reported in front of the 21
Ocean Drive Condo, which is north of Rehoboth Beach.  The turtle was
possibly killed by a boat propeller strike.  The remains were buried
on the beach.




POLICE INVESTIGATE PICTURE THEFT

Rehoboth Beach police were summoned to the Crosswinds Motel in the
fourth block of Rehoboth Avenue around noon on Sunday.  A thief
allegedly stole a couple items described as pictures worth
approximately $2000 to $3000.  Police came up with a possible suspect
and made several trips to a nearby hotel as part of the investigation.




MAN INJURED DOING “BUS-FLIPS” GOES TO HOSPITAL

Ocean City transit bus drivers have been annoyed for years by
passengers who perform “bus flips” while riding the city’s transit
buses.

Bus 226 radioed for assistance Sunday around 11:20 p.m. after a man
doing a bus flip fell and possibly dislocated his knee.  EMS as well
as police and the transit supervisor responded to meet the bus at the
45th Street bus stop.  To complicate matters, the bus lost power and
the medic requested a fire engine to help remove the patient.  Another
bus was summoned to take Bus 226’s passengers.

Here’s a “bus flip” demonstrated on YouTube:
  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49VKaPyG6BU






OTHER LINKS
  Rehoboth Business is Hot (WHYY TV)
     http://tinyurl.com/24236p

  Millsboro Argument Turns Violent in Co-Worker Dispute
     http://henney.com/weekend06/millsboro.htm

  Teen Charged After Attempting to Remove Ocean View Officer’s Gun
     http://henney.com/weekend06/oceanview.htm

  REHOBOTH FIREWORKS/BANDSTAND SCHEDULE
     http://www.rehomain.com/fireworks.html
     http://rehobothbandstand.com/

  Real-time ship plotter:
     http://henney.com/sp






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Listen for the “Henney Report” on 92.7/WGMD-FM’s Monday morning show
with Dan Gaffney!

http://www.wgmd.com

Interested in fire/EMS?  Check out Dave Statter’s blog:
http://statter911.com



Week Four: June 18, 2007

LANHAM MAN MISSING IN OCEAN CITY SURF

Rescue personnel searched into the darkness for the body of a teenager
who disappeared in the Ocean City surf Sunday afternoon.  Beach Patrol
Capt. Butch Arbin said the man had been wading in the ocean with two
other family male members when they became caught in a rip around 2:30
p.m.

They were two brothers and a cousin, believed to be from Lanham, Md.
The beach patrol assisted one of the men to shore and the other made
it to shore under the beach patrol’s supervision.  Once on shore
around 31st Street, they discovered the third man was missing.

Capt. Arbin said the men were non-swimmers and were actually not in
water over their heads.  But it appears the missing man panicked and
was pulled under.

The missing 19-year-old man is described as wearing a white T-shirt,
green shorts and is possibly from Jamaica.  Rip current assessment was
described as “moderate” on Sunday with a 68-degree water temperature.

The Coast Guard dropped a “datum” buoy in the approximate location
where the man disappeared off 31st Street.  As of 6:30 p.m., it had
drifted to about a half mile east of 21st Street.

Assuming this is determined to be a drowning, this would be the first
of the season for Ocean City.

Ocean City EMS also responded to an exhausted swimmer at 61st Street
around 7:30 p.m. Sunday.  She declined transport to the hospital after
making it safely to shore.

Coast Guard news releases and other CG news:
http://www.piersystem.com/go/site/651/




POWERBOAT BEACHED IN OCEAN CITY

Powerboats from around the country made their way to Ocean City for
the 2nd Annual OPA Offshore Powerboat Races this weekend.

The action was monitored by five helicopters as the speedboats raced
along the beach Sunday afternoon.

Around 3 p.m., one of the boats beached itself on 17th Street in front
of the Holiday Inn and tore a hole in its hull.  Multiple agencies,
including the beach patrol, police, public works, Coast Guard and a
private crane company struggled to remove the boat into the evening
hours.  At one point, police were called to control the crowds.

Earlier in the day, around 1:25 p.m., the Coast Guard took a boater
from the race with a knee injury to meet an Ocean City ambulance.

Offshore Performance Association
http://tinyurl.com/yp3ypr




MOM CRITICAL, CHILD SERIOUS AFTER BEING STRUCK

A mother and child standing along U.S. Route 113 in Frankford were
struck by a vehicle Sunday evening.  Stephanie Callaway, Sussex County
EMS spokeswoman, said it happened near Jay’s Market around 5:10 p.m.
Two vehicles involved in an accident struck the mother and child.
Both had bicycles, but she said it appeared they were not riding them
at the time of impact.

Trooper 2 and Lifenet helicopters flew each of them to trauma centers.
Ms. Callaway said the mother was critical and the child was serious.
Northbound Route 113 was shutdown Sunday evening for the crash
investigators.

State police issued this news release around 10:45 p.m.:
http://henney.com/weekend04/frankford113.htm




BUSY WEEKEND FOR MEDEVAC HELICOPTERS AT THE SHORE

Helicopters flew more than a half-dozen medevac missions for people
injured in accidents at the shore this weekend.

Most took place in Ocean City.  That’s where an 18-year-old man was
struck and thrown over the hood of a vehicle on 42nd Street around
11:10 a.m. on Friday.  He was flown by helicopter to Salisbury.

A 19-year-old man riding a crotch rocket bike crashed into a vehicle
at Worcester Street in Ocean City around 5 p.m. Saturday.  A second
biker, who fled the scene, was reportedly involved.  Maryland State
Police helicopter Trooper 4 landed at the Ocean City Coast Guard
station and flew the injured man to Salisbury.  He suffered trauma to
the right side of his body.

Christopher Casale’s pictures:
http://henney.com/weekend04/

What exactly is a “crotch rocket?”
http://tinyurl.com/yufv5x

Another person was injured around 6:40 p.m. Sunday in a two-vehicle
crash on 15th Street in Ocean City.  That patient was flown from Jolly
Roger Amusement Park, also on Trooper 4.

Two bicyclists were struck by a hit-and-run driver Sunday around 12:05
a.m. in front of the Berlin Wal-Mart off Ocean Gateway on Grays Corner
Road.  One was flown by medevac and the other was taken by ground to
Atlantic General Hospital.  Police broadcast a lookout for a vehicle
with front-end/headlamp damage which fled the scene.

A pedestrian was struck on 32nd Street in Ocean City near the
McDonalds around 2 a.m. on Sunday.  That patient was flown by Maryland
State Police Trooper 4 to a trauma center.

In Sussex County, one person was flown from an accident near Americana
Bayside to Salisbury on Saturday evening.  That’s west of Fenwick
Island.

Also in Sussex, a mother and child were struck along U.S. Route 113 in
Frankford around 5:10 p.m. Sunday (see story above).  They were flown
by Delaware Trooper 2 and Lifenet to trauma centers.




MAN FOUND DEAD IN ANGOLA

A man reported to be in his 30’s was discovered dead early Sunday in
the Angola area.  He was pronounced dead at the scene.  The medical
examiner is investigating, but the speculation was that he died from
some sort of overdose.




ASSAULT SUSPECT FLEES FROM POLICE IN CUFFS

Ocean City police caught a man involved in an assault Friday night,
but he managed to escape while still in handcuffs.  Officers, the
Coast Guard, and state police helicopter spent about 90 minutes
searching for the man after he fled toward the bay and a marsh south
of Route 90.

He was reportedly involved in an assault on 60th Street around 11:55
p.m., before he eluded police.  Police actually knew who the man was
and were about to suspend the search around 1 a.m.  That’s when they
got a tip that a man appeared to be hiding in nearby bushes.  He was
taken into custody around 1:20 a.m.




O.C. BUS INCIDENTS

Ocean City transit bus drivers radioed for police assistance several
times this past weekend.

Bus #215 was southbound at 81st street when the driver asked for
police to remove a rowdy male passenger at 9:10 p.m. Friday.

Around 12:35 a.m. on Saturday, the operator of Bus #250 turned on the
emergency strobe light to have police remove another disorderly
passenger at 49th Street.

A bus driver was reportedly assaulted on the south end around 12:45
a.m. on Sunday.  The driver declined to go to the hospital by
ambulance.




O.C. ROBBERIES

Ocean City police investigated at least three robberies this weekend.
The most notable was a robbery where the suspect was armed with a stun
gun near 4001 Coastal Highway.  Police made arrests in another robbery
case early Sunday morning.




ASSAULTS AT RUSTY RUDDER

Rehoboth ambulances responded twice to the Rusty Rudder in Dewey Beach
this past weekend for assaults.  One man was reported bleeding from
the head and face around 12:50 a.m. Saturday after a scuffle involving
a bouncer.  A police officer was later reported injured too, but did
not take an ambulance to the hospital.

Police and EMS returned Sunday for a 23-year-old man who got a cut to
his head around 1:30 a.m.




ALMOST PARADISE!

Many guests at the Paradise Plaza Inn were probably sound asleep when
the fire alarm sounded around 2:05 a.m. Saturday.  Firefighters
investigating reported a malicious pull-station in the first-floor
stairwell.  The alarm was silenced, placed out of service and
management posted a “fire watch.”

But firefighters returned around 6:25 a.m. to the Paradise Plaza Inn
when a water-flow alarm activated on the first floor.  Firefighters
speculated that the system lost air pressure which caused an air flow
and sounded the fire alarm for the second time.

While this was happening, firefighters requested a medic for a person
who fainted at the Inn around 6:35 a.m.  The patient declined
transport to the hospital.  The medic returned a second time about
five minutes later, only to be turned down once again.

The Paradise Plaza was not the only Ocean City hotel to have trouble.
A prankster at the Plim Plaza Hotel discharged a fire extinguisher
around 3:40 a.m. Saturday.  The particle dust apparently activated the
fire sensors on the fifth floor.  Firefighters were there for about 40
minutes trying to silence and reset the alarm system.

http://www.paradiseplazainn.com/

http://www.ocmdhotels.com/plimplaza/




BETHANY SAYS U.S. GOVERNMENT VEHICLES ARE “FAIR GAME”

A parking enforcement officer patrolling the Fourth Street beach lot
in Bethany Beach asked what the policy was for ticketing U.S.
Government-registered vehicles.  He found a pick-up truck with U.S.
Government tags in the lot around 2:05 p.m. Sunday.  He was told that
such vehicles were not exempt from being fined and ticketed.




Fatal Bridgeville crash, near Route 404 and U.S. Route 13
  http://henney.com/weekend04/bvillefatal.htm

Governor Minner to broadcast at Amateur Radio Field Day
  http://www.sussexamateurradio.com

Rehoboth Bike Safety Fair (***TODAY***)
  http://henney.com/weekend04/bikesafetyfair.htm

DNREC NEWS (Piping Plover and Horseshoe Crab updates):
  http://tinyurl.com/3ah8zq