A nine-month-old child is dead and a woman is in the hospital after a crash on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, near BWI Airport in Maryland, early Sunday morning.
The baby is believed to be the child of Talaya C. Martin, 29, of Elkridge. She was the driver of a 2002 Ford Explorer and is now hospitalized with life-threatening injuries, police said.
Maryland State Police and Anne Arundel County first responders were dispatched for a crash involving two vehicles in the northbound lanes of Route 295 at Wright Road, just before Route 100, just before 4:30 a.m. Sunday.
A 2014 Honda Crosstour, being driven by 45-year-old Marlon J. King, was heading north in the left lane of Route 295 when King noticed the Ford Explorer approaching at a high rate of speed behind him, according to a preliminary police investigation.
King reacted out of concern by shifting his Honda to the right lane as the Ford approached. Maryland State Police said.
The investigation showed the driver of the Ford, later identified as Martin, lost control of her vehicle just before passing the Honda, veering to the right “before traveling back across both northbound lanes toward the median, when it struck the Honda,” police said in a news release.
The Ford continued through a guardrail and down a hill where it turned on its driver’s side after striking several trees.
An unsecured car seat was found in the Ford, but police said it isn’t yet known if the baby was in it at the time of the crash.
King, who wasn’t hurt in the crash, remained on the scene.
Police said once the crash investigation is completed, it will be presented to the Anne Arundel County State’s Attorney’s office for review regarding charges.
The WTOP Traffic Center reported the northbound BW Parkway reopened around 10:30 a.m. following a six-hour closure due to the crash investigation.
Below is a map of the area:
WTOP’s Matt Small, Glynis Kazanjian and Alejandro Alvarez contributed to this report.
