(Largo, MD) – June 4, 2006 - Maryland State Police from the Forestville Barrack are continuing their investigation into an early evening multi-vehicle crash on the Capital Beltway, I-495, north of Ritchie Marlboro Road in Prince Georges County, that killed two people and sent the driver of a third vehicle to the hospital.
The identities of the victims and the injured driver are being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
The preliminary investigation indicates that shortly after 6:00 p.m., the crash involved a driver of a 2002 Ford F-150 pick-up truck on the Outer
Loop of the Capital Beltway north of Ritchie Marlboro Road in the third lane from the left. For unknown reasons, the vehicle swerved to the left,
crossed the left two lanes, traveled across the center median and struck the metal guardrail. The Ford pick-up truck became airborne and entered the Inner-Loop, the southbound lanes of I-495. The pick-up truck struck a 1998 Ford Explorer Sports Utility Vehicle which had been traveling in the southbound lanes, then continued to cross the lanes of the
InnerLoop and overturned on the right shoulder. The 1998 Explorer was then struck from the rear by a 2005 Ford Explorer.
The driver of the Ford pick-up and the driver of the 1998 Ford Explorer were killed in the crash. The driver of the 2005 Ford Explorer was transported to Prince Georges Hospital
Center for treatment. There were no passengers seated in any of the vehicles.
Shortly after the collision, while EMS personnel from the Prince Georges County Fire Department were attending to the injured female driver of
the first Explorer, a male, armed with a handgun, dressed in an armed security guard’s uniform, approached the scene and began yelling and acting
disorderly. EMS personnel were forced to call for troopers to remove the man from the area of the injured drivers. The guard began to yell orders
to other fire department personnel and then threatened troopers who arrived to investigate the disturbance. The guard, Kenneth Taylor, 53, of the
5800 block of Annapolis Road in Bladensburg, was brought into custody following a brief scuffle with troopers and charged with disorderly conduct,
handgun violations, assault charges, hindering and obstructing charges and resisting arrest.
Personnel from the State Highway Administration and the Prince Georges County Police Department responded to assist with detours around the
crash scene.
The investigation is being conducted by troopers from the State Police CRASH Team. |