Top 5 Stories: Fire, Fatal Accident and a Federal Investigation

Edgewater-Davidsonville Patch recently had one of its busiest weeks of the year. With a range of news events that included a fire, a fatal car accident and a federal investigation, here are the top five stories of the week.

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No. 1—

Early in the week, the Anne Arundel County Fire Department said warm spring temperatures and low humidity created conditions that are .

Labeled as a red flag warning, the National Weather Service (NWS) said firefighters and management agencies should be on the lookout for wildfires and brush fires.

The NWS describes “red flag” conditions as having “.”

No. 2—

was the primary cause of a  in Davidsonville on Monday night, according to a press release from Anne Arundel County police

Police said Stephanie Noell Banchero, 26, of Gambrills, was traveling north on Davidsonville Road in a 2002 Honda Accord when she drifted off the right side of the roadway. Banchero “overcorrected” and caused the vehicle to move across the double yellow lines and into oncoming traffic, according to the release.

Banchero’s Honda  with a 2000 Cadillac SLS in the southbound lane.  The collision resulted in , Mary Elizabeth Corkill, 70, of Davidsonville.

No. 3—

Anne Arundel County police said they arrested three south county residents Wednesday night that took place outside the Domino’s Pizza in Churchton.

On Wednesday night, officers responded to an “armed subject” report in the area of Garret Avenue and Dartmouth Street in Deale. There, a girl told police she was on Deale Churchton Road, according to a police press release.

She told officers that a man ran up, pulled money from her jacket pocket and ran to a waiting Jeep Cherokee operated by a female before it fled the scene, according to police. 

No. 4—

The U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Civil Rights recently announced its plans to that Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) discriminates against African-American children when .

Last year, the Anne Arundel County branch NAACP claimed that African-American students were  and disproportionately suspended or expelled by AACPS. In 2004, the NAACP also filed a complaint with the Office for Civil Rights, establishing a “” plan to close the achievement gap between African-American and white children in the county.

No. 5—

After hours of labor, firefighters extinguished the flames of a at the  in Edgewater on Sunday afternoon, according to Capt. James Rostek of the Anne Arundel County Fire Department.

Just before 2 p.m. Sunday, firefighters responded to a call of a reported brush fire at the 3700 block of Beach Drive Boulevard in the Selby Heights community, Rostek said.

Approximately  were reportedly working the scene at 3:30 p.m. with 40 land-based units and two fire boats. For hours, firefighters contained the flames but were .

Residents near the incident shared dozens of photos with Edgewater-Davidsionville Patch, with one sending in Selby.