MARYLAND
Fire Damages Home Near U-Md.
Fire caused heavy damage last night to a house near the University of Maryland campus in College Park.
The blaze was reported just before 11 p.m. in the 8900 block of Azalea Lane, just north of the campus boundary, said Capt. Mark Brady, a Prince George's County fire department spokesman. No one in the house at the time. Two men who live at the house are not affiliated with the university, he said.
Brady said the fire apparently started on the porch but that the cause was under investigation.
The fire came nearly a week after a blaze at a house off campus killed one student and severely injured another. That fire was set, and authorities said they found spots where a flammable liquid was spilled on a porch.
Man Killed in Laurel Car Crash
One man was killed and another was seriously injured in a car accident in Laurel early yesterday morning.
Brandon Hall, 24, of the 16100 block of Jerald Road in Laurel, was a passenger in a car that swerved off of Van Dusen Road and struck several trees. He was taken to Laurel Regional Hospital and later was pronounced dead.
Hall was one of two passengers in a 2004 BMW that was southbound on Van Dusen Road about 2 a.m. yesterday, Prince George's County police said.
Cpl. Kim Brown, a police spokeswoman, said a preliminary investigation indicated that alcohol might have been a factor.
The names of the driver and the second passenger, who was seriously injured, were not released.
Pipe Bomb at Bethesda School
A pipe bomb exploded about 4 a.m. yesterday outside Kensington Parkwood Elementary School in Bethesda, causing minor damage to the school but no injuries.
Investigators from the Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Service recovered fragments of the device. Authorities ask anyone with information about the incident to call the fire service's tip line at 240-777-2263.
