Metro

In Brief

THE REGION

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Fire Alarm Stops MetroAccess

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A call center for the MetroAccess paratransit service was briefly evacuated yesterday, leaving telephone lines unstaffed for about 15 minutes, after a fire alarm was pulled in the Silver Spring office building in the 8400 block of Colesville Road, Metro and Montgomery County fire officials said.

The false alarm went off about 1:45 p.m., according to a Metro spokesman. Most of the employees working for MV Transportation, the company that runs the call center that dispatches vehicles and takes reservations from disabled riders, remained at their posts until county firefighters ordered them to evacuate about 2 p.m., according to Metro spokeswoman Lisa Farbstein. The employees returned about 15 minutes later, after firefighters determined it was a false alarm.

MARYLAND

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Toddler Killed, Father Hurt by Car

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A 2-year-old boy died last night after he darted into the street near his Upper Marlboro home and was hit by a car, Maryland State Police said. His father, who ran after him, was also struck by the car, but his injuries were not believed to be life-threatening.

The incident happened on northbound Route 202 at Crescent Drive shortly after 7 p.m. , police said. The driver of the 2001 Acura Integra remained at the scene and was not ticketed. The boy, Justin Padilla, was pronounced dead at Children's Hospital. His father, Jaime Padilla, 26, was treated at Washington Hospital Center.

The incident is under investigation, police said.

Suit Fights Funeral Home Law

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A Maryland law that limits funeral home ownership to licensed funeral directors hurts consumers and would-be entrepreneurs by restricting competition, according to a lawsuit filed yesterday in federal court in Baltimore.

The suit filed by the Arlington-based Institute for Justice on behalf of five entrepreneurs, four from Maryland and one from Florida, claims the lack of competition adds $800 to the average cost of a funeral yet does little to protect consumers against fraud, incompetence or abuse.

"All that we want to accomplish is to bring Maryland in line with what . . . other states do," said Institute for Justice attorney Jeff Rowes. "Only Pennsylvania and New Hampshire have restrictive, anti-competitive laws like Maryland."

Maryland's law allows only licensed funeral directors, one of 58 designated corporations or the holder of a corporate license that has been handed down or sold to operate a funeral home.