Shock Trauma, Troops Come Home and a Controversial Arrival at BWI

An awkward feeling began to metabolize in my gut on Tuesday after I witnessed a serious accident on the corner of Severn Road and Severn Station Road. 

As a reporter, you can become desensitized to disasters or tragedy since it's what we witness every day. But this time it was different.

It's always different when the news happens to you.

I witnessed a car get struck from behind, forcing it into oncoming traffic. Then, the vehicle was hit head-on, spinning it 180-degrees before coming to a halt just inches before my car.

In that moment, my instinct took over. There's no thought of reporting, photography or angles.

All the passerbys lept from their vehicles to the assistance of those involved. Thankfully, police and fire personnel arrived quickly to help one of the seriously injured drivers, but it wasn't before I felt the sting of such trauma pierce into my normally peaceful routine.

All this occured just a few hours after I covered another serious accident involving a woman and two children after the driver on Gambrills Road. The driver, at the time estimated to be in ther 20s, was flown to Shock Trauma in a helicopter that landed in a field near . 

I was very grateful that later in the day I was able to attend a Bowie Baysox game with some fellow Patch editors, allowing me to unwind and slowly recover from an unusually violent Tuesday.

Operation Welcome Home

Before the events of last Tuesday, we ran a heartwarming piece about, an initiative that provides a pleasant greeting to military servicemen and women upon arriving at BWI Airport. More than 200 soldiers were greeted by cheers, smiles and cards created by local elementary students. 

The airport became another focal point on Severn Patch last weekend when former Army officer Terry Larkin was. Arbutus Patch editor Bruce Goldfarb shot some  of his arrival, too.

Traditionally, someone being released from prison is a happy day, but Patch readers came out in numbers to of Larkin and the stance he took pertaining to the President Obama birth certificate controversey. 

In other news, police identified the b as the wife of an Annapolis Bishop, community members to counter budget deficits and weather people throughout Anne Arundel County.