Md. trooper hurt in chain-reaction Beltway crash

WASHINGTON — A Maryland State trooper is in critical condition after a series of crashes that caused major delays on the Capital Beltway in Prince George’s County Thursday afternoon and into the evening.

At about 2 p.m., several wrecks left the trooper, 26-year-old Ezra Ganeshananda, injured and trapped in his vehicle on the Outer Loop north of Route 450.

Ganeshananda, who is assigned to the College Park Barrack, was investigating a crash on the shoulder of the Outer Loop north of Route 450 when a separate crash occurred nearby.

The driver from the secondary crash didn’t stop at the scene and struck the patrol car, in which the Ganeshananda was seated. The impact trapped him inside the vehicle.

That driver has been identified as 60-year-old Prasad Yadavalli, of Galloway Township, New Jersey. Police say charges are pending.

The hit-and-run vehicle, a 2011 Mercedes Benz C300, driven by Yadavalli, then became disabled in the lane nearest the shoulder. That’s when a passing truck towing two other vehicles struck the Mercedes, pushing it into the driver’s side door of the patrol car, Maryland State Police spokesman Cpl. DaVaughn Parker says.

“The trooper was actually struck twice: from the rear portion, and then a vehicle going into the driver door of his patrol vehicle,” Parker says.

A passing tow truck helped speed up the process of extricating Ganeshananda from the patrol car by moving the Mercedes, Parker says.

“The tow truck was just driving by and it was a good Samaritan that actually helped out and we greatly appreciate him for that,” Parker says.

Ganeshananda, who has been a member of the Maryland State Police for 15 months, was flown to University of Maryland Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore where he is in critical condition. Police say Ganeshananda has a brother who is also a Maryland State trooper.

Yadavalli sustained injuries in the crash and was taken to Prince George’s Hospital Center, Parker says.

Preliminary investigation indicates that before striking the patrol car, Yadavalli struck three vehicles on the Outer Loop. His vehicle then traveled across the Beltway before striking the rear of the patrol car.

The investigation into the crash is ongoing.

“We are investigating it and we’re not going to leave one stone unturned,” Parker says.

After the crash, traffic was stopped on the Inner and Outer loops north of Route 450 in Prince George’s County for several hours. The traffic delays snarled traffic through the Thursday afternoon and evening commutes.

All lanes of the Beltway’s Inner Loop reopened at about 4 p.m., and all lanes on the Outer Loop reopened around 6:30 p.m.

WTOP’s Kristi King contributed to this report.