it started on bel air road near frank fort avenue. officers were trying to break up a drug deal when a woman let them and the chase ended the joppa and walter in carney. police got involved by air and ground eventually boxing in the car, stopping the chase. a struggle happened during the arrest sending a third officer to the hospital. all three officers have been checked out and will be fine. the suspect, a woman, went to the hospital as well but will face charges when she's released. in the meantime baltimore city police are trying to figure out the details. the car the woman was driving was not hers but was also not reported stolen. the more curious detail, though, is that it had fraternal order of police tags. that does not necessarily mean that the woman is a police officer, but a question detectives have yet to answer.

now, again, all three officers will be fine. alee see is a hoffman of bel air will recover but will be charged with assaulting police, drugs and several traffic violations. here's an update of the news we brought you this morning. police want to know why the driver of a car strayed into a work zone and killed two men. >> roosevelt leftwich joins us with the very latest. >> reporter: the two men worked for priscilla construction out of prince george's county. both men died at the scene and they're trying to find out why the crash happened. the crew was in the southbound lane south of belvidere road. a 2006 ford focus, for some reason, did not move to the right and went right into the work zone. both victims did not stand a

chance. >> cecil county medical units responded to the location. unfortunately, the construction workers were pronounced dead at the scene. those names have not been released at this time, pending notification of the family mem bemplets the driver of the 2006 ford is being questioned. >> reporter: the driver of the car also was not injured. sergeant black said when the investigation is complete, they'll give their findings to the cecil county attorney's office to see what charges, if any, will be filed in this case. let's get to this flu outbreak. it has our entire county on alert. they're tracking cases of the strain in our state. >> it has claimed two dozen children and the number is

expected to grow. >> reporter: emergency rooms are overflowing and a flu season that is just getting started has spread to 41 states hitting 2200 people. it's being called one of the fiercest outbreaks in a decade, starting in october instead of january. eight chicago hospitals overwhelmed with patients were diverting them to less crowded yards. >> reporter: special flu tents were set up outside of an allentown, pennsylvania hospital. 863 reported flu cases this year compared to 65 last year. >> our office in the last two weeks has exploded with children. >> reporter: at least 18 children have died from the flu including a 6-year-old in dallas, sent home from the hospital with a tylenol.

she never woke up. >> went in there to check on her, and she was gone. >> reporter: the cdc said 18 of the affecting states are about to hit epidemic levels for the flu. things are likely to get worse. there are five more weeks before the end of this flu season. reporting from new york. >> abc2 news is your source for the very latest information on this flu outbreak as it continues. >> abc2 news linda so has been following the outbreak and has more on why this season is more dangerous. >> reporter: it's the type of flu strain. it's called the h3n2. that could be one of the reasons why we're seeing so many cases so early in the season. flu season typically peaks in february but many hospitals saw a spike in december. the numbers were way up.

875 patients came into the emergency room last month with flu-like symptoms. on any given day as many as 25 to 30 patients are being seen in the emergency department. the h3n2 strain has been known to make you feel more sick and cause more respiratory problems, especially in the elderly. >> it's not a new or novel flu strain when we had the swine flu that came out a couple years ago, but it is a little bit more severe than some of the others. >> reporter: this year's flu vaccine is pretty much matched to the strains we're seeing so it's not too late to see your -- to get your shot. the state tracks cases systemically so they can keep -- systematically so they can keep track. >> reporter: sickness spreading around the office is a sure sign that it's affecting people.

you can watch it online without getting germs. maryland's department of health and mental hygiene breaks down the progress of the flu week by week. it's amazing and gross stuff. indicators of the flu began to cross the radar november 3rd. they called it sporadic. then it goes from localized problem to widespread in a couple of days. check out another cool tracker they have ob that website for flu like illnesses. that went from minimal to high. the state is able to map all of this out thanks to reports made by hospitals, lab testings and input from people who may not have seen a doctor. >> it's different perspective. we have to look at all of this together to get the full context of what's going on in m. and throughout the united states. >> reporter: you can be part of the state's efforts. they have a program that's the

maryland residence influenza tracking program. you can report back for your whole family. that information does help the state get a more complete picture, even if you tough it out at home. if you want to check out flu watcher, log on to abc2news.com/flu, joce sterman, abc2 news. >> we want to give you a refresher corpse. the flu is spread from person to person but a lot of times people get it from touching something. the cdc said there are six items in particular you should avoid touching until you wipe them down. first, tv's and phones. refrigerator handles, door handles and light switches. other kitchen services including the my cree wave oven and

grocery carts. they can be gross. use those wipes. lots of stores are offering them. now, unfortunately, this flu outbreak will likely be with us for several weeks to come. we set up a comprehensive guide. you can find a list of some of the biggest myths and a link to a facebook app that will help you track who gave you the flu if you get it. you can find our special flu section at abc2news.com/flu. don't want to touch anything right now. across the state clouds rolling in. it has been a grue-- a gray day. as a result, temperatures held down somewhat today. we thought mid to upper 50s, only ended up getting low 50s. that cloud deck held tough and almost no sunshine.

down through delaware they did reach 60 degrees. 40s this evening. some matchy drizzle possible. we'll talk about how things will shift big time as we go into saturday, sunday and beyond. that's straight ahead. less than 72 hours from now the ravens will be on the field in denver, hopefully with a few touchdowns already. >> before they take on the broncos in mile high, in the words of vanessa williams, there's work to do. they're trying to find the right formula to shut down peyton manning and get ray rice up the middle. >> the compliment has worked well for us. ray, obviously, can run inside, outside, make you miss that low center gravity. he can catch the ball out of the

back field, which is great. bernard can get north and punch holes in the defense. >> all right. the players will all be heading out to denver coming up friday. >> guess what? we're heading to denver too. we will be live in whitemarsh. jamie will be live from denver. friday night we'll have team coverage from denver and a one-our special it. starts one-our -- one-hour special. it starts at 7:00. >> i've never seen so many socks in a bag. a winter without snow and a summer with no days under 100 degrees. dozens of people trying to get to work, thrown down to the deck of a ferry.

how fast the ferry was going when they hit the dock.

some disturbing news from the annual cancer report. more people are being diagnosed with camera related to hpv. vaccines are widely available to prevent the hpv virus. the cdc has been recommending all girls get vaccinated once they turn 12. many of us have stopped using plastic bottles have the studies have connected them to bpa. but infants and children are getting too much bpa from other

sources. baby bottles and food containers made of plastic should never be heated unless they're bpa free. >> if you get your receipt, wash your hands in running warm water or running water before you touch your food, because it transfers and it absorbs through the skin. >> the best way to absorb bpa from the receipt is to say no if the cashier asks you if you want one. with massive snowfall amounts last winter, looks we barely saw any. abc2 news cairch travers has

more. >> reporter: government scientists said last year was the warmest. the average temperature 55.3 degrees. this is by no means the last record. >> reporter: the new year is bringing new milestones. chicago is famous for its snowy winters but today the windy city reached another day without at least a one earn snow. 2012 wasn't just warm. it was also extreme. tornadoes in the midwest, wildfires in the west. massive drought across much of the nation. in the northeast, superstorm sandy. the government study only looked at temperatures here in the u.s., but around the world there are similar warning signs. in australia record hot temperatures and raging wildfires are causing havoc.

>> we saw tornadoes of fire just coming toward us. >> reporter: this man saved his five grandchildren from the fires by taking them into the sea. they clung to a jetty for which he hours. >> we were just head -- water up to our chins, just trying to breathe. >> reporter: government scientists said the record-break temperatures are part have a -- of a trend that could result in more extreme weather. karen travers. >> it actually has been warmer. >> warmer. one of our hottest summers on record in maryland. i was looking at that australian family who survived the fire holding on to the dock in the water. no doubt. extremes across the globe and some milder than average weather here for january. it was a cold finish to december

and early start. >> did you wear a coat? >> no. >> i wore a fleece. >> so we'll be cold when we walk out. >> take a look. right now pretty decent looking weather but it stays cloudy as a result. temperatures reaching the low 50s across most of central maryland. now we're at 48 degrees. the air column has gotten moister. so we're up to 40. we're able to get a few, very few light rain showers as a result of this boundary pushing through the hear today. show you some weather in motion across the board. in dundalk you see what's going on. clouds hold tough. a few drops on hour camera lens at ccbc but not a lot of precipitation. what we did see was abundant cloud cover. as a result temperatures couldn't fight below 50. that was the case across the

state today. calm, still water scenario in annapolis. current winds are from the west at 5 to 10, not a lot of wind. what little we have is the west, southwest breeze but a warming breeze. temperatures, though, falling just below 5 degrees with -- 50 degrees. and we'll see temperatures falling down to the mid-30s. we'll stay above freezing to avoid the frost. across the area, here's the boundary. you call it a weak cold front. we'll be up close to 50 but it want enough to spark light drizzle. it looks dry tonight and tomorrow. in fact, tomorrow it looks like we'll see more sun working in, just partly cloudy conditions. however, we will cloud up friday and bring in the chance for rain showers friday night into saturday morning with our next disturbance pushing in out of the west. some friday night rain will be a distinct possibility. cold but not frigid.

as you look further south, temperatures up around 70 in charleston, south carolina. the overall setup is one that will be fairly quiet, through friday afternoon. by friday night we'll see more unsettled weather move in out of the west. high pressure controls. this will be a cool area of high pressure, so, again, struggling to get past 50s. in the low to mid-50s perhaps on friday we'll bring in showers as milder air punches in for the weekend. none of that west. still looking at clear cold conditions in denver. tonight it will be dry other than a patch of drizzle this evening. tomorrow 51, a mix of sun and clouds and a cool night as winds go northeasterly. take a look at the setup into the next seven days. temperatures running right around 50 the next two days. the warming trend kicks in saturday into the early part of

next week. next week looks rainy. we'll have more on that coming up. normally when people are robbed, they question who and why, but that's the last thing one couple was left wondering after a recent break-in. >> dash cam captured a lot of arrests but never like this.

the family dog woke up a family. they checked the security camera and found someone trying to break in the house. the burglar was missing something. >> we were shocked. someone had pants around the

ankles. >> it snowed the night before. you can see where the half naked burglar went in the neighborhood. all right. this highway looked more like a rodeo. the bull was riding in a livestock trailer. the bull got loose and charged at an officer. the officers had to euthanize the animal. neighbors called 911 when they thought a lion had escaped the zoo and was roaming around town. turns out, these are lab bra doodles. the owner groomed it to look like the lion king. charles, the lab bra doodle, is so popular now, it has its own facebook page, more than 2,000 followers. >> like simba from the lion king. >> look.

that is incredible. >> that is adorable. guess what? annapolis is back in action and they wasted no time getting down to business. we'll tell you what lawmakers had to say on day one of this general session about the possibility of a gas tax increase. >> i tell you, your rush hour was commute but nothing like this. it turned dangerous on a ferry in new york. >> and the consumer electronics show is hotter than ever. we'll take a look at some of the new apps that were unveiled that you can actually unveil. >> how chilly will it get before the really warm weather arrives? we'll talk about that straight ahead on abc2 news.

a bell air woman is behind bars charged with hurting three police officers during a chase. it started on bel air road near frankford avenue when officers tried to stop what they thought was a drug deal. that's when 23-year-old alicia hoffman took off injuring officers. she is expected to be charged with assault and traffic violations. >> two construction workers were killed when a car plowed into the zone they were working. police have not found skid marks on route 40 in perryville. the driver has not been identified. in charges have been filed so far against the driver. the workers were employed by a prince george's county firm. clouds hung tough today. we still made it into