1 dead, 4 injured in Montgomery Co. crash with vehicle into carport

A vehicle sped into the carport of a Germantown, Maryland, single-story home following a crash in the early morning hours of Feb. 9, 2020. (Courtesy MCFRS/Pete Piringer)

A man is dead and four other people injured after a crash involving two cars in Germantown, Maryland, early Sunday morning, with one smashing into a nearby home’s carport and catching fire.

Montgomery County first responders were dispatched to Md. Route 355/Frederick Road and Plummer Drive around 1:30 a.m. Sunday for a serious collision. They found a 2013 Toyota Scion FR-S jutting out of the carport of a single-story home on the southwest corner of the intersection.

Four people — including two teenagers — were inside the Scion, Montgomery County Fire and Rescue spokesman Pete Piringer said. All four were transported to a hospital with serious, but non-life threatening injuries.

Their vehicle began to burn. More than 60 firefighters responded, Piringer said, and brought the blaze under control before it could extend into the home itself. The home was unoccupied at the time of the crash.

A preliminary investigation determined the second vehicle, a 2019 Volkswagen Jetta, made a left turn onto Plummer Drive from northbound Frederick Road when it collided with the Scion travelling south on Frederick Road, Montgomery County police said.

The driver and sole occupant of Jetta, identified as 51-year-old Resham Lal of Germantown, was declared dead on the scene.

The WTOP Traffic Center reports all southbound lanes of Md. 355 reopened between Gunners Branch Road and Gamer Preserve Road around 7:30 a.m. following a crash investigation.

A satellite map of the Germantown, Md. intersection where the crash happened. The home involved is at the southwest corner of Plummer Drive and Md. 355. (Courtesy Google Maps)

WTOP’s Melissa Howell reported from Germantown, Md. WTOP’s Teddy Gelman also contributed to this report.

Alejandro Alvarez

Alejandro Alvarez joined WTOP as a digital journalist and editor in June 2018. He is a reporter and photographer focusing on politics, political activism and international affairs.

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