Mining firm sued for millions over sinkhole

 By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
WESTMINSTER:  A mining company and the state is being sued for $13.5 million each by the widow of a man who was killed when his minivan plunged into a sinkhole.

Robert W. Knight, 24, died in March 1994 on Maryland Route 31 when a sinkhole opened between Westminster and New Windsor in the early morning darkness. The Taneytown man died at a hospital about five hours after the accident.  The minivan had to be lifted out with a crane, and the 45-foot-wide hole was filled with rocks, paved over and the road was reopened by evening.

Sinkholes can occur when rainwater dissolves limestone or marble bedrock, creating underground caves that grow until the material above collapses.

In her suit against the state and Redland Genstar, Knight claims emotional pain and suffering, loss of companionship, financial support and other losses on her part and on behalf of her two children.   She filed her suit in Carroll County Circuit Court.

The suit takes aim at a Medford quarry not far from the sinkhole site.  The quarry belongs to Genstar, which is based in Hunt Valley.

``Genstar drew off billions of gallons of water from underground streams and severely lowered the water table, leading to the development of sinkholes throughout the immediate area surrounding the quarry and the sinkhole on Route 31 in which Robert Wayne Knight lost his life,'' the suit says.  

The suit also says that Genstar failed to look into possible hazards, failed to provide the state with reports on the impact of the mining, failed to prevent sinkholes on Route 31 and failed to warn the public of possible danger.   John H. Gease, a spokesman for Genstar, said the area where the sinkhole occurred is not within the company's jurisdiction.  Gease referred to a recent state law that draws ``spheres of influence'' around quarries, areas in which sinkholes and other geologic activity can be attributed to the mining activity.   The law, possibly the only one of its kind in the nation, holds the mining companies liable for property damage caused by such activity within the ``spheres.''

The Maryland Department of the Environment would not comment on the suit.

A spokeswoman for the State Highway Administration, which maintains Maryland Route 31, said that officials there had not seen the lawsuit and so declined comment.