A man fatally hit by a flatbed truck on Interstate 270 Friday morning may have been trying to change a tire on his SUV just before he was struck, Maryland State Police said.
Shortly before 5:30 a.m., the man was driving a 2015 Ford Explorer north on I-270 when he struck a concrete median north of Shady Grove Road in Rockville, investigators believe. The impact may have deflated the SUV's left front tire.
Police think the driver jacked up the vehicle and was trying to change the tire.
Then, "for unknown reasons at this time, investigators believe the driver was attempting to cross the northbound lanes of I-270 when he was struck by the Freightliner truck," police said in a statement.
Maryland State Police identified the victim as 33-year-old Jerasimos Ray Blanton, of Rockville. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Blanton's Ford Explorer was found still elevated on a jack, police said. The Explorer had extensive damage on its left side.
The truck driver was not hurt and remained on the scene. Police said he is cooperating with investigators.
