REGIONAL BRIEFS

Sunday, April 30, 2006

D.C. PEDESTRIAN DEATH

Fleeing Driver Sentenced

A District man has been sentenced to 13 1/2 years in prison for killing a pedestrian while fleeing from police, the U.S. attorney's office said.

William Byrd, 25, of Northwest Washington pleaded guilty in February to voluntary manslaughter and attempting to escape. He was arrested 15 months ago after police spotted him in a stolen car and gave chase.

The car subsequently struck and killed Francisco Rivera at 14th and Monroe streets NW.

-- Paul Schwartzman

DISTRICT FIRE

At Least 3 Boats Damaged

A houseboat and at least two other boats were damaged last night in a fire on the Southwest Washington waterfront, authorities said.

Alan Etter, a fire department spokesman, estimated that damage could exceed $1 million.

-- Clarence Williams and Martin Weil

Olney

Unidentified Body on Sidewalk

The body of an unidentified man was found on the sidewalk near a shopping center in Olney yesterday, Montgomery County police said.

A white man in his forties with no visible signs of trauma and who carried no identification was found at Georgia Avenue and Route 108 about 5:30 a.m., a Montgomery County police spokeswoman said. The body was taken to Baltimore for an autopsy.

-- Joshua Partlow

Ellicott City CRASH

Driver Dies After Hitting Tree

A 20-year-old Howard County woman died yesterday when her car left the road and struck a tree in Ellicott City, Howard County police said.

Just after 3 a.m., Karen M. Schall of Ellicott City was on Montgomery Road, just east of Bonnie Branch Road, when her car drove off the road, police said.

It is not known why the car left the road.

-- Joshua Partlow

Montgomery Schools

Immigrant Students Reassured

The Montgomery County school system is urging students to go to school tomorrow, disputing rumors that undocumented immigrants would be arrested if they do.

In a news release, school officials acknowledged widespread rumors of arrests in conjunction with a business boycott to protest proposed legislation to tighten U.S. borders.

Schools spokesman Brian Edwards said that several schools had received calls from parents. County police also released a statement dispelling rumors of mass raids against undocumented immigrants in the county.

-- Nancy Trejos

BLACKSBURG FATALITY

Student Charged in Hit-and-Run

A Virginia Tech student has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in connection with a hit-and-run accident that left another student dead in Blacksburg in November.

Police in Virginia's Montgomery County said Aaron Pierce, 20, of Roanoke was indicted April 27 for his role in the accident that left Virginia Tech freshmen Brian McCloskey, 18, unconscious near a bike path in Blacksburg on Nov. 5. McCloskey had been to a party with friends but somehow ended up alone, the friends told police. He died five days later.

Officers seized a vehicle in December in Roanoke.

Pierce was released on $50,000 bond Thursday, police said.

-- Candace Rondeaux