Deadly day on county roads

Three unrelated car crashes in Anne Arundel County yesterday claimed at least two lives and left several other people severely injured.

One man died and his passenger was in serious condition following a single-vehicle crash early yesterday morning in Arnold.

Kevin Shawn Hadley, 43, of Arnold, was driving northbound on Boulters Way around 12:30 a.m. when he lost control of his 2005 BMW Z4 on a left-hand curve.

The car went airborne and struck several trees, rotated counterclockwise and stopped about 118 feet from the road at the intersection of Boulters Way and Winchester Road, according to Anne Arundel County Police.

Mr. Hadley, who resided on Old River Road, suffered extensive head and neck injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Anne Arundel County Fire Department personnel.

Rescuers worked 40 minutes to extricate Mr. Hadley's passenger, Fariba Atuallah Partawi.

Ms. Partawi, 47 and also a resident of Old River Road, was taken by Maryland State Police helicopter to University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore with non-life threatening head and neck injuries.

Officers could not determine if alcohol contributed to the crash, but did say that speed was a factor. The crash is still under investigation.

Another man died in the northwestern part of the county yesterday afternoon in a two-car collision.

Shortly before 3 p.m., people working in the area of Route 198 and Brock Bridge Road in Maryland City heard a loud crash when a small pickup and a Cadillac SUV struck each other.

The driver of the pickup was pronounced dead at the scene, and a person from the SUV was taken by ambulance to Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, eyewitnesses said.

Police arrested a woman who was driving a third vehicle and was believed to have been involved in some way in the accident, according to witnesses.

Anne Arundel County Fire Department spokesman Capt. Harry Steiner said rescue personnel were called to the accident at 2:55 p.m.

They transported five patients to various medical facilities from that accident, Capt. Steiner said.

A 30-year-old man was taken to the Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore with life-threatening injuries, Capt. Steiner said, and a 47-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman, whosuffered severe injuries, were taken to Prince George's Trauma Center.

Two other patients were taken to local hospitals with minor injuries, said Capt. Steiner, who was prohibited by privacy laws from providing additional details.

Investigators were on the scene more than two hours, but police last night were unable to provide details.

The carnage continued late last night on Route 50 in a rollover accident that left two men clinging to life.

At 9:58 p.m., county fire and rescue personnel received the call of an accident on Route 50 near Revel Downs.

Capt. Steiner said he did not know the number of vehicles involved, but two men suffered severe injuries when they were ejected.

Witnesses described the scene as "a mess," and said a westbound dark color Jeep Wrangler had jumped a guard rail and was on its side in the median. Nearby was an overturned boat and trailer.

Crab traps were strewn all over the road, witnesses said.

The accident happened about the same time a severe thunderstorm swept through the region and interfered with medevac helicopter operations, sources said.

Both patients were taken to Anne Arundel Medical Center by ambulance.

One man, age 55, suffered "multi-system" injuries, Capt. Steiner said. The other man, described as in his thirties, was unconscious and had life-threatening injuries.

Staff Writer Heather Rawlyk and Correspondent Eddie M. Harris contributed to this report.