A crash that killed one person and injured six others on the Capital Beltway’s Inner Loop in Montgomery County on Wednesday morning has spurred miles-long delays, officials said.
The crash investigation between Connecticut and Georgia avenues shut down all lanes of the Inner Loop of the Beltway (Interstate 495) for hours.
Debris spread out across the interstate and the three wrecked cars forced crews to shut down the Inner Loop, according to Assistant Fire Chief David Pazos.
Lanes were back open before 8 a.m., but traffic backups on the Inner Loop were stretching 5.5 miles, according to the Maryland State Highway Administration. Rubbernecking delays on the Outer Loop stretched onto Interstate 95, officials said.
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Three vehicles were involved in the crash shortly before 3 a.m., according to Montgomery County Fire spokesperson Pete Piringer.
A Honda Accord struck a Jeep Wrangler and a Honda Civic while entering the Beltway via a ramp from southbound Georgia Avenue, according to Maryland State Police's preliminary investigation.
At least one person was ejected from the vehicle, and another was trapped and pulled from the wreckage, Piringer said.
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All those injured were treated as trauma patients, Piringer said. Six adults were taken to hospitals, but the adult passenger from the Honda Accord died on the scene, police said.
"We had to provide enough advanced life support as well as manpower to assist with those patients and that takes time," Pazos said. "And then after that getting them to the right hospital so they can get treated for their injuries.”
Further information on their conditions wasn’t immediately released.
Photos from the scene show the Jeep flipped onto its roof, resting near a concrete barrier wall, near the two Hondas.
Maryland State Police are investigating. Authorities haven’t detailed what may have caused the crash.
Montgomery County police were rerouting traffic from the Beltway before the Inner Loop reopened.
Stay with News4 for more on this developing story.
