City fire department probes suspicious blaze
The Hagerstown Fire Department is investigating a suspicious fire that started Wednesday afternoon in an upstairs apartment at 22 Madison Ave., according to Fire Chief W. Kyd Dieterich.
Dieterich said about 15 firefighters responded to the call shortly after noon.
“It was smoldering so we didn’t have to do a whole lot,” Dieterich said. “We just cleared out some smoke and turned it over to the fire marshal.”
Dieterich said he wasn’t sure when the results of the investigation would be released.
The apartment is part of a three-story brick building that used to house the former Crossroads Bar & Grill.
Motorist charged with hit and run in crashes
A Hagerstown man has been charged with striking several parked vehicles Tuesday afternoon on South Locust Street.
Jeffrey White, 55, of the 400 block of Guilford Avenue, was charged with hit and run, Hagerstown Police Chief Arthur Smith said.
Smith said the incident occurred at about 5:15 p.m. Tuesday, when the driver of a 2001 Kia struck three parked vehicles in the 200 block of South Locust Street and drove away.
Smith said police tracked White to a home in the 400 block of Guilford Avenue and charged him with striking the vehicles.
“He was positively identified as the driver by a witness,” Smith said.
Tanker truck driver faces traffic violation
The driver of a small tanker truck who left the scene after crashing onto a guardrail along northbound Interstate 81 Tuesday night was found at a residence in Hagerstown Wednesday afternoon, according to Maryland State Police.
Bryan Mills, 40, of Falling Waters, W.Va., was charged with a traffic violation under a commercial vehicle law that carries a $70 fine, Trooper David Thompson said.
Mills was nervous when he left the scene of the 7:09 p.m. crash north of the Salem Avenue interchange, Thompson said.
Mills said the brakes on the truck locked up, according to Thompson, who said there were skid marks at the scene.
The truck, which was estimated to be carrying 300 gallons of asphalt-paving material, was owned by Craig Sealing Industries.
Thompson said the owner of the company found Mills Tuesday night at a residence on Wayside Avenue, but Thompson was not able to meet with Mills until Wednesday.
— Dan Dearth and Dave McMillion
