Metro

In Brief

MARYLAND

State Police Cadet Dies After Crash

A 20-year-old Maryland State Police cadet was killed yesterday in a traffic accident in Hughesville in Charles County.

Neal C. Slater of Mechanicsville was southbound on Route 5 about 1 p.m. in an Acura when he came upon a stopped car waiting to turn left onto Homeland Drive. In his attempt to stop, he swerved into oncoming traffic and broadsided a Chevy Tahoe, said Sgt. Rob Moroney of the Maryland State Police.

The cadet and the driver of the Tahoe, Harold E. Reisinger of La Plata, were airlifted to Prince George's Hospital Center, where Slater was pronounced dead. Reisinger was seriously injured.

The cadet was part of a civilian division of the state police that works on commercial vehicle enforcement.

3 Men Burned at Construction Site

Three workers were burned yesterday in a White Oak construction accident after a worker fired a nail gun into a live electrical wire, fire officials said.

A 22-year-old man was in critical condition with second- and third-degree burns, Montgomery fire and rescue spokesman Pete Piringer said. Two other workers -- aged 17 and 38 -- were also hospitalized with burns, Piringer said.

The 22-year-old worker fired a high-powered nail gun into a live wire about 12:45 p.m. at the construction site, in the 10900 block of New Hampshire Avenue, Piringer said. That caused an arc of electricity that set his clothing on fire and burned the other men. The names of the injured men were not released yesterday.

THE REGION

Comcast Joins Amber Alert Searches

Comcast Corp. announced yesterday that its cable technicians will be sharing information with law enforcement officials when there is an Amber Alert for a missing child in Maryland and the District.

The program will connect Comcast technicians to the Amber Alert system so that when there is a missing-child report, workers will be able to be on the lookout and make reports to police.

The Amber Alert is a nationwide system for tracking abducted children.