Howard County Crash Sends Five to Area Hospitals

Five people were hospitalized Friday after a single-car accident launched a Crown Victoria into the air, ejecting two of its passengers, according to Howard County Police.

At about 1:47 p.m., police say John Henry Burnham, 40, of Fort Meade, was driving southbound on Route 32 in Dayton when his car veered off the right side of the road. The car, a 2002 Crown Victoria, struck a guardrail and went airborne, landing along a wooded area, according to police.

Police say two of the car’s occupants were ejected.

According to police:

• Burnham was taken by ambulance to University of Maryland Shock Trauma, where police say he is now listed in stable condition.
• Eighteen-year-old Heather Young of Inwood, W.V. , was flown to Shock Trauma, where she is listed as in critical, but stable condition.
• Brittany Nichole Young, 19, also of Inwood, was also taken to Shock Trauma, by ambulance. She is listed in stable condition.
• Brittany Maria Breeden, 17, was also taken by ambulance to Shock Trauma. She is listed in stable condition. Police have not identified her hometown.
• Twenty-three-year-old Frank Burnham, of Baltimore, was taken by ambulance to Howard County General Hospital. He is listed in stable condition.

The Howard County Police Traffic Enforcement Section is investigating the accident. A contributing factor, police said, was the failure to obey a traffic control device. A traffic control device refers to anything -- from painted lines on the road to traffic signals to speed bumps – which is used to direct and control traffic.