Police have arrested the driver of a car that struck a contractor trimming trees in a work zone during a hit-and-run Wednesday on the Capital Beltway’s Inner Loop in Silver Spring, Maryland.
On Thursday, Maryland State Police identified Jadien Ranard Jones, of Virginia, as the operator of a white 2021 Freightliner straight truck involved in the crash. Officials located the truck and the 39-year-old driver at The Home Depot Distribution Center in Sparrows Point, Maryland Wednesday afternoon.
Police say the truck was driving eastbound just before 10:15 a.m. when it drove through a work zone in the area of Interstate 495 and Georgia Avenue. The truck then veered into the right shoulder, striking multiple traffic cones and the tree-trimmer before leaving the scene.
Eric Lewis, 57, of D.C. was identified as the struck foreman, and he died at the scene of the crash.
Lewis was a crew member of a mobile tree trimming operation contracted through the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration.
As of Thursday, Jones has not been charged, and the investigation remains ongoing.
Some lanes of traffic nearby the crash were initially blocked for the investigation. All lanes reopened at around 2:15 p.m. Wednesday.
Lewis’ death comes as Maryland has been working to improve safety in work zones after a crash on Interstate 695 near Baltimore last March. Six highway workers were killed in that collision and the State Highway Administration was cited for a “serious violation” in October.
