news time is 6:30, 29 degrees outside. good morning, maryland, i'm charley krauss. we're is morning. let's head right over to angela now for the very latest on this accident on the harrisburg expressway. angela, what do you have? reporter: well, charley, we've got a pretty serious accident on the harrisburg expressway. this is your backup through the parkton region on southbound 83, the harrisburg expressway. your southbound lanes are shut down at belfast road in the glennco area. as a matter of fact right now we are making all cars exit at belfast road. the southbound lanes backed up, as we mentioned, solid through the parkton region. now, we got an update from maryland state police. northbound lanes are open on the harrisburg expressway, but we've got emergency response vehicles taking up a left northbound lane as you approach the accident scene. it is very, very busy in that area, and, of course, going to be very slow getting through.

if you plan to travel on the harrisburg expressway, through the sparks glennco area, northbound or southbound, you may want to hop on route 45, york road as your alternate route. again, southbound 83 the harrisburg expressway shut down at belfast road. in the meantime, if you're traveling elsewhere, we have another accident to report for those of you on the bw parkway. not taking up any lanes, but it's certainly slowing down traffic at i-195. so be prepared for that. here's a live look at traffic on the west side of 695, looking pretty good out on those lanes, picking up in volume, but still no delays as you make your way to i-95 on the southwest side. now with a look at our forecast, here's justin. >> angela, it is a mess up there and it's 6:32. we talkd about it in the last half hour. i wanted to show you they did put the lights on there. in ellicott city currently 30 degrees. we check out other numbers around the region. rolling in from clear skies to the north, clouds around parts of the beltway and that's why we have this wide spread of

temperatures. perry hall 28, but owens mills 47. look at mount aiy, 44. you do take that drive down to silver spring, you really avoid all this chill this morning. there's the flareup of clouds. the clouds themselves really just east of the mountains and right around central maryland, but the main storm track stays well to our north, including that snow in new england. and as we are locally dealing with a snowless situation, just a reminder those local ski areas have been pumping the snow guns, so they're in decent shape, roundtop, liberty and white tail. you may want to get out there today, 56 today. we should match that number on the thermometer tomorrow. charley, back to you. it took a half hour for a fire on bidle street to take the life of a 84-year-old woman. sherree has more. reporter: charley, her name was mary hines, but everyone called her miss mary. she retired in 1981 as the principal of william pender hughes middle school. we're told she lived in

baltimore for over 50 years. when firefighters arrived on the scene, they saw flames shooting out of the front door and shooting through the second floor. neighbors say miss mary went to church everyday and used a cane to get around. her friends and neighbors can't believe she's gone. >> i was very sad to know it was miss mary, i really was, really was very sad to know it was miss mary because miss mary, like i said, was a community person, loved the children and anything she could do for you, she would do it for you. reporter: firefighters said miss mary had a working smoke detector. it will take some time to know how this fire started. miss mary becomes the first fire death of the year in baltimore. something done for wabash and hillsdale road in northwest baltimore, safer this morning. for two years cynthia larkin was fed up with watching the number of accidents happening just outside her front door, so she continually called 311. so many calls the dispatcher told her to stop and they would send someone out to assess the

traffic situation. larkin's relentlessness result inside a new traffic light. >> my father would have loved to have seen it because he was the first vice president of the west arlington improvement association for 10 years. and he tried to get a light and it just didn't happen. so i'm the daughter, only child, made it happen. >> officials urge residents to call 311 for nonemergency situations and for larkin's story there is proof the system works. we are off to a break now. we're continuing to watch what's new and developing on that harrisburg expressway accident. this is a live look from our traffic cameras. angela has got you covered on this. justin has got you on the weather side of things. we're following this on twitter and on facebook. and if you have any pictures from this or other accidents, pix@wmar.com. we continue in just a moment.

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caught on tape, a police chase ends in a crash. a dash cam on a city bus in oklahoma city captured the entire ordeal. officers were chasing four burglary suspects in the car when the suspects ran a red light and then collided with the truck. two more cars crashed in, trying to avoid that wreck. the four suspects, they ran away, but police caught three of them. no one, thankfully, was seriously hurt. a bizarre story for you this morning out of pennsylvania. a gift from a stranger could have landed a great grandmother behind bars. alberta kelly says a man gave her what she thought were flower seeds. what popped out of the ground were instead marijuana plants. there were seven of them about four feet high a piece. they were growing next to her tomatoes. >> i never saw marijuana plants grow in my entire life and i've never been around marijuana, so i didn't know the difference. to me weeds are weeds. >> that is certainly weed. an anonymous tipster told police about the plants.

police charged kelly with possession and manufacturing of a controlled substance. however, a jury found the great grandmother not guilty. a michigan mom has a message for parents after an accident has now turned tragic on a michigan highway into something much better. teresa was driving when she hit a slick spot and her suv rolled over on its side. her young son who was not in a booster seat became stuck underneath the truck. listen. >> he would have been in that seat belt, he wouldn't have flown out of that vehicle. we wouldn't have had none of this. >> the rescue crews who respond today that accident say there were a few factors that played a role in keeping young fern ando from being crushed. first the ground was soft and actually a little muddy, so he sank into the ground beneath the weight of the car. here's the kicker, cut down corn stalks provided a buffer between the weight of the car and that young boy. a lot left to get to this morning, including that accident along the harrisburg expressway. we've also got some news for you as well.

sherree. reporter: a multi-million project to repair a local draw bridge could affect your commute on the beltway. when it will start and how long it will last coming up. reporter: and this house in colombia could make howard county schools $100,000 richer. i'm linda stow, how you can vote to help them win. mild temperatures this morning, just the last few hours a flareup, an extension of these clouds. we do have warm temperatures for a few more days in store. 6:41. angela. reporter: we've got a solid backup on southbound 83 from middletown road all the way to belfast road where your southbound lanes of the harrisburg expressway are shut down. we'll have an update on this situation and other roadway snenlts up next. hi. welcome to carmax. hi. i was on carmax dot com and i think i found the one.

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meteorologist justin burk. >> that picture in d.c. is gorgeous. we have some clouds trying to build across the area this morning. looks like they're right underneath of that picture showing it's more high clouds than anything else. overall we have a look the a temperatures that are starting to modify. although we've been looking at 29 in baltimore, 36 in ocean city, check out the 40s to the west of the mountains, a sign of what is on the way. we do have a wider spread than what i'm showing you, that 25 to 30. some of you close to 40 already. the sun officially up at 7:26. we will break some sun out, a mild day at 56 degrees and the mild temperatures go at least into the start of the weekend. so weather is not the issue this morning, traffic surely is. let's get more on that right now at 6:45. here's angela. reporter: thank you, justin. you are right, traffic is the issue, especially for those of you who take the harrisburg expressway. southbound lanes shut down at belfast road. just to give you a recap, we had two vehicles involved and a very serious incident, an suv and a truck had persons thrown from their vehicles in this

incident, and medivac was on the scene. maryland state police says medivac has left the scene, but still shut down at 83 at belfast road. a problem northbound now, seeing some delays due to the fact we have emergency response vehicles blocking a left lane northbound 83 at belfast road. again, your best alternate to get around this situation is going to be route 45, york road. in the meantime, let's get a look at some traffic conditions around the area while we tell you about the accident on the bw parkway, affecting traffic northbound and southbound on the bw parkway at i-195. the accident is eastbound 195 at the parkway blocking a left lane. now, for those of you who travel on the beltway in the southeast baltimore region, get ready for some driving challenges. abc 2 news sherree johnson is here to explain more on the curtis creek draw bridge project. sheree. reporter: thanks, angela. starting on saturday, the first phase of the $14 1/2 million project will begin to repair

the curtis creek draw bridge. the inner loop of the draw bridge will be shut down to replace the bridge decking and steel support beams. this means drivers can expect one lane of traffic in each direction on the outer loop. the speed limit will be reduced from 55 miles an hour to 45 miles an hour. the inner loop bridge opened in 1977 along with the opening of the key bridge. now, the outer loop draw bridge opened just two years later and drivers have some mixed emotions about the project and the delays. >> going to detour us around other areas, and, of course, make it all clustered everywhere else to get into these places. and, you know, with trucks, it's hard enough to get around as is, even when it's not closed. >> yeah. it's going to delay traffic. it's not good. >> it's about time that the state actually gives up some money and fixes the roads and bridges and everything. well needed, well overdue. >> we gotta do what we gotta do i guess. reporter: it'll take about 10 weeks to finish the work on the

inner loop and then work begins on the other side of the bridge. the entire project is is expected to be completed by early spring. sheree johnson, abc 2 news. this morning the presiding office of the maryland general assembly will talk about a new session beginning next week. senate president thomas v. mike miller and house speaker michael bush are scheduled to give a legislative forecast at a meeting set for cambridge. and homeowners could soon be paying more. right now our flush tax runs about $2.50 a month for sewer customers and $30 a year for homes with septic systems. environmental groups want to raise that flush tax to $90 by 2015. the money goes to help clean the chesapeake bay. and are you looking for a job? wegmans is now opening a new store in colombia and they're looking for workers. the supermarket will open in mid june at the intersection of stone river and mccall road. you have to apply online. and to give you the size of this wegmans, there'll be two- floor parking garage out front. this is wegman's fifth store to be opening in maryland.

in the meantime, wegman wants to make sure your shopping experience is pleasurable and you save money. the chain has released 50 items that will remain the same price through the winter months. the price freeze goes into effect sunday and lasts through april 28th. for a list -- you can find a list of those products at our website, abc2news.com. lawyers in the case of dr. steven brinkham and nicole oreilly are seeking contempt s with performing late-term abortions here in maryland and new jersey. brigham and reilly's lawyers are now asking a judge to unseal the documents so their clients can know the details. also they're wants to hold the state's attorney in contempt for allegedly disclosing the contents of that indictment. the one-year anniversary of the tucson shooting, representative gabriella giffords will attend a vigil sunday at the university of arizona mall. you'll recall in january of 2011 six people were killed in the shooting rampage outside of a giffords meet and greet.

jared lawful ner is charged in that in that massacre. a planned celebration of the martin luther king, jr. holiday. it marks the first holiday where visitors can visit the legacy of the civil rights leader at the memorial dedicated to him. the national park service will lay a wreath at the site and offer educational programs throughout the day. the national cathedral will also hold a special service that afternoon. and martin luther king, ii, a known civil rights and community leader will serve as the keynote speaker at this year's annual event honoring his father, civil rights leader dr. king. the theme is peace, love and dignity, king's ultimate challenge. the martin luther king awards for the community service recognizes selected johns hopkins employees for volunteer activities. that address we just told you about, it's today from noon to 1:30 at the turner auditorium at johns hopkins medical campus. we know the holidays are over, but one house in howard county says i'm not done yet. in fact, you get to vote on it.

abc 2 news' linda stow is live in colombia this morning with why these lights are so special. and, linda, there's a way the school district in howard county can profit from this. reporter: yeah. take a look at this, charley. how could you not vote for this holiday display? if this house wins and this display wins, howard county will actually win $100,000. this house is all part of a finalist in this nationwide contest that's sponsored by patch. you can go to deckthehouse.patch.com up to sunday to vote, 11:59 sunday to get your vote in for this house. the brain child behind this, the homeowner here, charles daniels. you've been doing this for 12 years and you said next year it's going to be bigger and better? >> bigger and better. i'mi'm i'll add another 50,000 lights to the house. i'm so excited as to the contest this year and the feedback i've gotten from the visitors to the house. it's just amazing. and i really feel great about it.

so i'm going to do better. reporter: this is really a labor of love. i mean, charles' wife was telling me he was out here for about a month for 12 hours a day just getting this display up. you can see there's a string that comes down, the blues there, a deer drinking from the water. this is just amazing. and he actually puts up straw in the front lawn so people can come up close and just watch. this, again, you said it's just -- it's wonderful. it's quarter million lights here. let's talk about your electricity bill. >> the electricity bills are quite high. these lights for the contest have been on a week longer than usual, so my guess is i'm going to have an electric bill that's going to be pushing $1,000 which is not uncommon. and you add my utilities to that, so i'm looking at $1200 to $1300 bill. that's great. reporter: yeah. you really do it for the

community. and, again, this year if he wins, $100,000 goes to howard county schools. you can vote, deckthehouse.patch.com. you have this sunday at 11:59 p.m. he will keep these lights on. he is on durham road east in colombia up until sunday. so if you want to come by with your family, it's just great. you can get a look up close and personal. live in colombia, linda stow, abc 2 news. news time 6:53. reports out of pennsylvania indicates penn state has a new head football coach. offensive coordinator bill o'brien will be introduced saturday. coach joe paterno was fired in november in the aftermath of child sex abuse charges that were leveled against jerry sandusky. the dome is going to be purple. the ravens march to this year's super bowl. this is city hall in the city of baltimore. the courthouse it's their turn. all in a regional effort to paint the town purple as we march closer to hosting the

first playoff game in baltimore in five years. but in this, justin, we have to pace ourselves. we still got nine days. >> yeah, and i don't have nine purple ties. i just realized that. >> you know why i'm going red today. >> gotta save ourselves or work on the wardrobe. hey, check this out. we've been talking about a band of clouds that has moved in. if you've been watching all morning, look at the view here from the u.s. navel academy. look at the clouds roll in overhead. is that a gorgeous shot or what? that is fantastic. we're looking at the sun over the horizon. it almost looks like armageddon or independence day with that ship coming in. but we've got ourselves a look at temperatures this morning that are in the range of the upper 20s where it's clear to near 40 or so around spots. a wide range of temperatures. therethere's the flareup of clouds and you can see annapolis right there and it looks like the cloud cover has spread overhead, but the pictures tell the true story. at least you're seeing this little sliver over the horizon with some clearing. overall this is just one little

disturbance. clear skies behind the mountains and we will move this or shift those winds and we'll get some sun back out. it's all about those winds and those winds will continue to push in temperatures mid- to upper 50s today at 4:00 and then we'll work our way back with somewhat seasonable overnight, chilly temperatures, but still above normal temperatures, and staying mild tomorrow. sunday itself we shift the winds. next disturbance could be interesting towards the end of the weekend. i'll tell you in a moment. 56 today, variable clouds. more breaks than sun out. 55 overnight. we'll do 56 again tomorrow and bring our way back to the 40s, a dry day on sunday. sunday night and monday, some models starting to indicate we could have some light snow instead of the chilly rain i'm showing you on monday at 41. we'll watch that over the weekend and then we'll watch rain, possibly wintery mix to bring on the next surge of cold air middle to latter part of next week. angela. reporter: if you normally take the harrisburg expressway in, you may want to make a phone call. it's going to take you a very long time to get through the sparks glennco area. southbound 83 is shut down at

belfast road. medivac has left the scene, but we just checked in with maryland state police. they say right now they do not know when they will reopen the southbound lanes of the harrisburg expressway. that backup you're looking at southbound is way past middletown road now. and, of course, northbound lanes are open with the exception of one left lane. we had one closure there on the left side. the northbound side closed due to emergency vehicles on the scene there. this is a pretty bad situation. we are looking at a delay now that's going to be over an hour. >> unreal. we'll keep you posted on that throughout the morning here on abc 2 news and abc2news.com. also following this for you on facebook and twitter. but before we go, a little bit of a lighter note, angela, this is for you. washington state man accused of using a plastic skeleton as his passenger so he could get in the carpool lane. now, police, they stopped him for erratic driving, clocked at 82 miles an hour. they saw the plastic skeleton, so he got a number of charges, including unsafe driving, lane

changes and the h.o.v. violation. >> but the skeleton was buckled in. >> buckled in. reporter: dis -- dishonest but genius. the weekend is here. let's go to new york. have a great day.

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