Crash first fatality on ICC since November 2011 opening

A crash along the ICC Wednesday afternoon is the first fatality on the road since it opened in November 2011. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)
A crash along the ICC Wednesday afternoon is the first fatality on the road since it opened in November 2011. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)
A crash along the ICC Wednesday afternoon is the first fatality on the road since it opened in November 2011. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)
A crash along the ICC Wednesday afternoon is the first fatality on the road since it opened in November 2011. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)
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A crash along the ICC Wednesday afternoon is the first fatality on the road since it opened in November 2011. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)
A crash along the ICC Wednesday afternoon is the first fatality on the road since it opened in November 2011. (WTOP/Dave Dildine)

WASHINGTON — The Maryland Transportation Authority confirms a Highway Services Employee is dead after an accident on the Intercounty Connector Wednesday afternoon.

According to a spokesperson for the agency, it is the first fatal crash that has occurred on the road since it opened in November 2011.

The two-vehicle accident happened shortly before 2 p.m. in the eastbound lanes between the exits for Layhill Road and New Hampshire Avenue. A Montgomery County dump truck skidded across the eastbound lanes for unknown reasons before overturning on the median strip. The truck was hauling gravel which spilled across the westbound lanes of the highway following the crash.

In a statement late Wednesday, Montgomery County Executive Isiah Leggett identified the driver as Leo Brooks. Leggett expressed his condolences to Brooks’ family, friends and colleagues.

Another vehicle, a 2004 Nissan Altima, was also involved in the incident. MDTA police spokesman 1st Sgt. Jonathan Green says the driver of the Nissan was transported to MedStar Montgomery Medical Center and suffered non-life-threatening injuries.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

Some drivers sat in delays for over an hour while a medevac helicopter touched down on the road. Drivers behind the crash scene were eventually turned around by Maryland State Police. The westbound lanes of the Intercounty Connector were closed while state highway crews used bulldozers to clear the gravel spill. Some westbound lanes were reopened to traffic by 4:30 p.m.

All lanes were reopen to traffic both ways by 8 p.m.

Dave Dildine

A native to the Washington area, Dave Dildine is no stranger to the region's complex traffic and weather patterns. Dave joined WTOP in 2010 when the station launched its very own in-house traffic service. You can hear him "on the 8s and when it breaks" from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays.

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