WASHINGTON — An overturned tractor trailer on U.S. 50 in Annapolis, Maryland, was just one of several crashes that caused headaches for morning commuters in the D.C. region.
The tractor trailer, which was carrying frozen beef, flipped shortly after 2 a.m. on U.S. 50 just before Cape St. Claire Rd after the driver lost control of his 2003 International Tractor Trailer and hit a guardrail, Maryland State Police said.
The crash left frozen beef strewed across both the east and west lanes of Route 50, state police said.
Authorities identified the driver as 79-year-old Earl Stanely, of Wyoming, Delaware, and said charges against him are pending.
The police investigation into the incident closed westbound lanes for about five hours, before they reopened around 7 a.m.
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About an hour later around 3 a.m., a crash on Maryland Route 6 in La Plata, Maryland, shut the road down in both directions.
Around 5:30 a.m., a crash on southbound Maryland Route 2 blocked the eastbound ramp for U.S. 50.
At approximately 7:30 a.m., a crash involving four vehicles on the George Washington Parkway at VA-123/Chain Bridge Rd. in McLean blocked all southbound lanes. The area remains under police direction.
To make matters even messier, a garbage truck being towed struck several of the overhead steel beams of the steel truss bridge that carries Maryland Route 355 over the Monocacy River in Frederick County, Maryland, and authorities say the bridge could be closed for a month to repair the damage.
Alternate routes include Interstate 270 and some local cross-county routes.
Below is the area where the crash happened.
A tweet from the Frederick County Sheriff’s Office indicated no one was hurt in the crash.
According to State Highway Administration data, around 12,210 vehicles use the bridge every day.
WTOP’s Jack Moore and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
