WASHINGTON — A University of Maryland Shock Trauma nurse had to be airlifted to Shock Trauma after she stopped on Interstate 70 to help victims of a rear-end collision involving a tractor-trailer and dump truck.
Angela M. Weir, 47, and her husband were eastbound on I-70 when they saw the crash that had just occurred on the westbound I-70 bridge over the Monocacy River, near Patrick Street.
Maryland State Police say she hopped out of her car and jumped over the wall to get to the scene.
“Apparently unaware there was no median between the east and westbound lanes at the scene, Weir fell more than 75 feet into the Monocacy River when she leaped over the bridge wall to attempt to cross to the westbound lanes and the crash scene. Her husband called 911 immediately,” Maryland State Police said in a news release. Earlier reports said her fall was 100 to 200 feet.
A trooper pulled her to shore. Sgt. Stephen Johnson said she was conscious after her fall.
Police said Weir was not the only one taken to the hospital after the crash that happened around 4:50 a.m. Wednesday. Both drivers were transported, the dump truck driver to Shock Trauma and the tractor-trailer driver to Meritus Hospital.
The dump truck driver is identified as Charles H. Williams, 53, of Baltimore. Douglas L. Sexton Jr., 58, of Sparrows Point, Maryland, was driving the tractor-trailer.
The conditions of all three are not known.
Police say at 4:44 a.m. — just before the crash occurred — troopers received a call about a dump truck traveling without any lights on.
As they tried to find the truck, the tractor-trailer loaded with asphalt struck the rear of the dump truck.
The tractor-trailer struck the concrete wall of the bridge before jack-knifing and catching fire, and the dump truck overturned, spilling much of its load of concrete, police said.
The crash forced both sides of the interstate to shut down during part of the morning commute. Eastbound I-70 reopened around 7 a.m. All lanes of westbound I-70 reopened around 3 p.m.
The Maryland State Highway Administration has been inspecting the bridge.
NOW: I-70 EB past MD-144 (x56+59) OPEN, crash CLOSES — WB, use Rt 144 (x59) #Frederick #MdTraffic @NewsChopperBrad pic.twitter.com/6I5PIufeYC
— WTOP Traffic (@WTOPtraffic) August 3, 2016
