Newly elected councilmember tackles hit and run driver and sits on him until police arrive

Law and order Councilmember Chiavacci

Newly elected councilmember tackles hit and run driver and sits on him until police arrive.

By Kevin Dayhoff Sunday, May 31, 2009

Westminster councilmember Tony Chiavacci (submitted photo)

[Note: This is an update of an earlier story from Sunday, May 31, 2009 4:00 pm: Law and order councilmember Tony Chiavacci Westminster Maryland - Newly elected councilmember tackles alleged hit and run driver and detains him until police arrive, by Kevin Dayhoff. A shorter – edited version of this story appears in the Westminster Eagle, “Dayhoff: New councilmember tackles alleged hit and run drive” Published June 1, 2009 by Westminster Eagle]

Westminster Maryland - If you aspire to be an alleged hit-and-run driver in Westminster, you may not want to do it in front of newly elected Westminster Councilmember Tony Chiavacci’s house on Willis Street, just a couple houses down from Westminster City Hall and the Westminster police station.

Reports of the councilmen’s heroic law-and-order behavior travelled quickly through town last Sunday morning.

Usually the most activity on Willis Street on any given Sunday are the squirrels frenetically frittering about doing, well, whatever it is the bushy tailed critters frantically do, birds singing and a few bunny rabbits nibbling on some grass.

However, last Sunday the bucolic story-book calm of the historic tree-lined street noted for its large stately homes and well manicured lawns was shattered abruptly by the sounds of a roaring engine, squealing wheels and a car crash.

When it was all over, even the squirrels, birds, and bunnies stopped in their tracks and the only frantic critter on the street was a reckless hit-and-run driver flailing about with the grass flying and a councilmember sitting his back.

Witnesses revealed that a hapless eastbound driver on Willis Street, had apparently rounded the corner and traveled at a high rate of speed from the direction of Westminster City Hall towards Center Street when he hit several parked automobiles.

Soon after the parked cars were hit, the offending auto stopped in the street like a wounded beast and the driver attempted to flee. That’s when councilman Chiavacci sprang into action by eventually running-down and tackling the individual.

As a crowd of older citizens, assorted family dogs, birds, bunnies, squirrels, and children gathered around, the alleged offender was reported to have been heard screaming, “Get off of me.” A request that Chiavacci, the son of a career retired Maryland State Police officer did not seem to be in the mood to oblige.

Later that evening in a telephone interview, Councilman Chiavacci, a former Army military police officer who is known for his good-natured smile and easygoing personality - but who is also about the size of a small Sherman Tank – calmly recalled the morning’s events.

“Today is my birthday and my kids made me a birthday breakfast,” said the father of five children proudly in a soft, measured voice. “I was sitting in the living room reading the Sunday paper, when all the sudden I heard a car engine roaring, tires squealing – and then a loud crash.”

Now, no longer worried that an idiot was on the loose on Willis Street, Chiavacci’s annoyance turned into concern. “I was worried that someone may have gotten hurt, so I hustled out of the house and down the driveway to see a damaged mini-van sitting in the middle of the street.”

“Then this guy gets out and starts beating the feet on down the street towards Center Street…” Chiavacci’s police training immediately kicked in as he noticed the vehicle did not have tags on it, “and I wondered why this guy was taking off?”

Chiavacci went on to say that “I asked the guy to stop and get back to his car.”

At which time the driver of the wounded mini-van said, “I’ve gotta get to work man.”

Quickly getting a grip on the situation and transitioning from big-breakfast-eating, newspaper-reading slumbering-Sunday Dad to concerned citizen; Chiavacci said he realized that “something wasn’t adding-up, so I asked him again to ‘stop right there,’ more colorfully,” shared Chiavacci in a matter-of-fact tone of voice, as if he were talking about the weather.

Meanwhile the offender is picking up the pace, not running, but moving even more quickly. “I caught up to him and asked him again to stop.” At that the gentleman pushed back against Chiavacci.

Other accounts suggest that the offender struck Chiavacci, however according to Chiavacci, “ah, he just pushed me and said something like ‘leave me alone.’”

Three strikes and a shove and you’re out. Besides, the bad guy interrupted Chiavacci’s Sunday morning with his kids.

Chiavacci reports that he “was nice enough to ask him to stop one more time,” as the offender continued to try and take off. “So, I just leveled him in the yard,” at the northeast corner of North and Willow Streets.

“My MP training just took over. I was worried for all the kids that were out … and my elderly neighbors… and fortunately I knew how to stop him without hurting him.”

“He kept fighting me, but I had the better of him and I just waited for the police to come…”

Fortunately for the alleged hit-and-run driver, Westminster city police arrived quickly and took control of the situation.

Afterwards, the children in the neighborhood resumed playing; the squirrels went back to – whatever it is that they do and Chiavacci, well, “after the police took the guy away, I went back to being a birthday Dad and reading the paper.”

All in a day’s work.

-30-

Kevin Dayhoff writes from Westminster. E-mail him at kevindayhoff AT gmail.com.

####

20090601 SDOSM Law and order Councilmember Chiavacci

Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/kevindayhoff
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1040426835

Westminster Maryland Online http://www.westminstermarylandonline.net/

Law and order councilmember Tony Chiavacci

Law and order councilmember

Westminster Maryland - Newly elected councilmember tackles alleged hit and run driver and detains him until police arrive.

By Kevin Dayhoff Sunday, May 31, 2009 4:00 pm

A reliable source reports that if you wish to be an alleged hit-and-run driver in Westminster, you may not want to do it in front of newly elected Westminster councilmember Tony Chiavacci’s house on Willis Street, just a couple houses down from Westminster City Hall and the Westminster police station.

Reports of the councilmen’s heroic law-and-order behavior are, as yet, unconfirmed by phone calls to the Westminster city police, Westminster elected officials and Councilman Chiavacci’s home.

However, it has reported that earlier today, a loud crash was heard on the quiet bucolic Willis Street, the historic neighborhood noted for its large homes and well manicured lawns.

One witness shared that upon further investigation into the matter, it was revealed that an eastbound driver had apparently traveled from the direction of Westminster City Hall towards Center Street when he was alleged to have hit several parked automobiles.

Soon after the parked cars were hit, the offending auto stopped in the street and the driver attempted to flee. That’s when councilman Chiavacci sprang into action by running and tackling the individual.

As a crowd of older citizens gathered around, the alleged offender was reported to have been heard screaming, “Get off of me.” A request that the son of a career retired Maryland State Police officer did not seem to be in the mood to oblige.

Fortunately for the alleged hit-and-run driver, Westminster city police arrived very quickly and took quick control of the situation.

-30-

20090531 SDOSM Law and order councilmember

People Chiavacci Tony, Law Order, Westminster Police Dept chron, Westminster Police Dept chron, Public Safety Traffic Safety, Westminster Police Traffic Safety, Current Events,

Kevin Dayhoff Soundtrack: http://www.kevindayhoff.net/ Kevin Dayhoff Art: http://www.kevindayhoffart.com/ Kevin Dayhoff: Westminster Maryland Online http://www.westminstermarylandonline.net/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/kevindayhoff Twitpic: http://twitpic.com/photos/kevindayhoff YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/kevindayhoff Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1040426835

People Chiavacci Tony, Law Order, Westminster Police Dept chron, Westminster Police Dept chron, Public Safety Traffic Safety, Westminster Police Traffic Safety, Current Events,

Kevin Dayhoff: Westminster Maryland Online www.westminstermarylandonline.net

Police: Speeding, truck traffic not a problem on Pennsylvania Avenue By Mary Scott

January 5th, 2009

I’m just catching up on my reading after the hectic holidays and being away for the last week and I came across this article in the Carroll County Times.

Oh my. I can only be sure that this report from the Westminster Police Department did not sit well with some of the folks up on Pennsylvania Avenue in Westminster who like to sustain attention to themselves by keeping a steady drumbeat of doom and gloom and therefore stay relevant by maintaining an air of crisis.

Police: Speeding, truck traffic not a problem on Pennsylvania Avenue By Mary Scott, Landmark News Service

Saturday, December 27, 2008

Despite resident concerns about truck traffic and speeding vehicles on Pennsylvania Avenue, data compiled by the Westminster Police Department shows that the two issues are not major safety risks.

Although truck traffic on Pennsylvania Avenue is 2.4 times higher than the average amount of truck traffic on other roadways of its type, Westminster Police Chief Jeffrey Spaulding said there’s no objective evidence that the trucks have contributed a significant level of collisions, property damage or injuries, according to data he presented at a recent meeting of the Tri-Street Area Advisory Committee, which centered on various traffic issues.

Read the entire article here: Police: Speeding, truck traffic not a problem on Pennsylvania Avenue By Mary Scott, Landmark News Service

http://www.carrollcountytimes.com/articles/2008/12/27/news/local_news/newsstory5.txt

20081227 Speeding truck traffic not a problem on PA Ave by Mary Scott

Kevin Dayhoff: www.westgov.net Westminster Maryland Online www.westminstermarylandonline.net http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/

Why you should never drive through water flowing over a road

Why you should never drive through water flowing over a road

Retrieved August 28, 2008

Extended Video: Freeport Road Collapse

News 8 chief photojournalist Kevyn Fowler was rolling his camera when flooding took out a road in Freeport. Watch this amazing video!

Hat Tip: James E. Slater, Jr. AICP, QEP, Environmental Compliance Officer, Carroll County Government - - I received this from SHA, If you ever needed a reason not to drive through water flowing over a road, this will give that to you. The video is of a culvert pipe collapse. It lasts 3:30 minutes.

http://www.wmtw.com/video/17144859/index.html

20080828 WMTW TV 8 Freeport Road Collapse

20080621 SHA to reaffirm policy on roadside memorials by Beth Ward

SHA to reaffirm policy on roadside memorials

By Beth Ward, Carroll County Times Staff Writer Saturday, June 21, 2008

[…]

… The tribute was one of hundreds placed along the state’s highways memorializing people who died in traffic accidents. However, the practice of erecting roadside memorials violates state law and, according to officials, poses a safety risk for drivers and highway workers, as well as for friends and family who stop at the memorials.

On Friday afternoon, the State Highway Administration posted its policy for roadside memorials on its Web site. David Buck, SHA spokesman, said the agency is reaffirming the policy that has been in place because of the increased number of roadside memorials dotting the state’s highways.

“It’s gotten to the point we needed to do that,” Buck said. “We are not doing a massive sweep; we are reaffirming what has always been our policy.”

According to the SHA Web site, federal and state laws prohibit the placement of anything on state property along state roads, including roadsides, medians or on utility poles.

Buck said the state’s right-of-way is typically from utility pole to utility pole. The law does not single out roadside memorials, but anything placed on state property near roadways, he said.

“Anything in our right-of-way takes away peoples’ first responsibility of paying attention to the road,” Buck said.

With the warm weather, Buck said the memorials pose a problem because of the mowing that takes place.

If a worker doesn’t notice a memorial, it could be dangerous for the worker and passing motorists if it gets tangled in the mower’s blades, he said.

When a memorial is removed by state workers, it is kept intact and held at the local maintenance facility for two weeks, so it can be reclaimed, and every effort is made to contact the owners, Buck said.

[…]

Other states have grappled with the issue of balancing road safety and maintenance with accommodating grieving friends and families. Some states have developed standardized signs, while others allow the memorials only in certain circumstances. Some have banned the practice completely.

With the increasing number of roadside memorials, Buck said the agency is trying to provide safe alternatives. One alternative that is already available is to adopt a highway in memory of a loved one, Buck said.

Reach staff writer Beth Ward at 410-751-5908 or beth.ward AT carrollcountytimes.com.

More information

The State Highway Administration’s policy for roadside memorials can be found under the Frequently Asked Questions section of its Web site here

For more information or to adopt a highway in Carroll County, contact the State Highway Administration’s Westminster Maintenance Shop at 410-848-6565 or 800-807-8449.

Read the entire article here: SHA to reaffirm policy on roadside memorials