Parts of the DC Beltway were closed early Sunday morning after a multiple vehicle collision involving a Maryland State Police cruiser.
Police said a van was traveling along the outer loop around 3:30 a.m. when it struck the police cruiser that was parked on the side of the road for a traffic stop. The van continued and hit the car involved in the traffic stop as well before overturning.
The driver of the van, Jerry Javan Benson, Jr., 67, from Oxon Hill, was transported to the University of Maryland Shock Trauma center with life-threatening injuries. A passenger in the van, Arthur Lee Phillips, 81, from District Heights, was taken to the Prince George’s County Hospital.
The trooper and the people in the stopped car were not injured.
The northbound lanes of I-495 near Suitland Road were closed for 2 ½ hours for investigation of the accident. Alcohol is believed to be a factor in the cause of the crash.
