Two people are dead and three others injured after a Friday morning crash on southbound Interstate 81 in Washington County, Maryland, involving four tractor-trailers and two passenger vehicles, Maryland State Police said.
A preliminary investigation revealed that a Chevrolet Tahoe struck the back of a tractor-trailer that had started to brake due to traffic, causing a chain-reaction crash between three more tractor-trailers and a pickup truck just before 9:40 a.m.
Wesley Merrick, 55, and Alicia Eve Cornell, 46, both of Wellsville, New York, driver and passenger of the Chevrolet Tahoe involved in the crash, were pronounced dead on the scene.
Two additional passengers in the Tahoe, Wesley’s wife Carrie Merrick, 49, and Kevin Dye, 59, were injured in the crash and transported to separate medical facilities.
A third person and driver of one of the tractor-trailers involved in the crash, Darrin Wayne Shank, Jr., 55, of Williamsport, Maryland, was hospitalized with injuries.
Southbound I-81 in Washington County was closed for most of the day on Friday as Maryland State Police investigated.
