BROADNECK - Three people were injured in a multiple-vehicle crash yesterday afternoon on westbound Route 50 that tied up traffic in both directions for more than an hour, Maryland State Police said.

At 2:30 p.m. a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, a Yamaha motorcycle, and a Cadillac were pulled over so the drivers could exchange information after a fender bender that had just happened near the Severn River Bridge.

The bikers had taken their helmets off and stood next to their bikes, while the driver of the Cadillac left through the passenger side of his car to avoid the passing traffic, police said.

A woman driving a Honda Accord veered off the roadway, struck a guardrail, and crashed into the two motorcycles and the two bikers. The impact sent the motorcycles into the back of the Cadillac.

The driver of the Harley, identified as a man, 59, was flown to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore with life-threatening head injuries, said Battalion Chief Matthew Tobia, a county Fire Department spokesman.

The woman, 57, the driver of the Yamaha, was taken by ambulance to the shock trauma center with serious injuries; and the woman who drove the Honda was taken to Anne Arundel Medical Center in Parole with minor injuries. The driver of the Cadillac was not injured.

The driver of the Honda told state police she "blacked out" while traveling west on Route 50. Two lanes of westbound Route 50 and one eastbound lane were closed for more than an hour.

Man beaten during bus stop robbery

GLEN BURNIE - A man was beaten with a baseball bat and robbed at a Glen Burnie bus stop yesterday morning, county police said.

At about 6:15 a.m., the man was in the 7900 block of Ritchie Highway when four masked men walked up to him carrying what looked like a bat.

The man told police he was struck from behind with the bat and fell. He had been knocked unconscious so he did not know how many times he'd been hit, police said.

He had large cuts on his head and had bruising on his abdomen. It is unclear what was taken during the robbery.

Pier opponents find ally in comptroller

SEVERNA PARK - Residents in Olde Severna Park who don't want their neighbors to build walkways and piers into Sullivan Cove may have an ally in Comptroller Peter Franchot.

Mr. Franchot sent a letter last week to his colleagues on the Board of Public Works - Gov. Martin O'Malley and Treasurer Nancy K. Kopp - saying the panel should review the case.

The homeowners seeking the piers need state approval to build across wetlands. Owners of three homes are seeking a total of two piers. One home's pier would go around a tidal pond and into the cove. The other two homes would share a pier that would cross the pond and go into the cove.

The Board of Public Works has final authority over wetlands cases, though most of the time the responsibility is handed off to the Maryland Department of the Environment.

Most other Olde Severna Park homeowners do not hold the sufficient property rights to build their own piers. They use two community-owned piers in the cove.

After lengthy legal battles, some pier opponents see the Board of Public Works as their last chance to block them.

Mr. Franchot said in his letter that he's concerned about the environmental effect of the piers. He said the Board of Public Works "will provide an open, public forum that ensures the highest standards of transparency for a decision of this magnitude."

- From staff reports