UPDATE, Saturday – 12/29/2012, 12:26pm ET – The accident is still under investigation. Police have released the names of the victims.
James Plakas, 61, of Rockville, was brought to Baltimore Shock Trauma and is still in critical condition. He was driving the Chevrolet HHR.
Keegan Lutchman, 31, of Gaithersburg, was driving the Volkswagen Tiguan. He and his mother, Annemarie Lutchman, who was in the car with Keegan, were both brought to Suburban Hospital.
Ronald Baxter, 61, of Silver Spring, was driving the Ford F15 pickup truck. He was not transported for treatment.
Aletha Davis, 42, of Lusby, Md., was driving the Cadillac SRX. She was brought to Suburban Hospital.
Imran Arif, 41, of Gaithersburg, was driving the Honda Civic and was brought to Suburban Hospital. He was released Friday.
Ana Veronica Lopez, 50, of Rockville, was driving the Pontiac Torrent. She was not transported for treatment.
Police say that Keegan Lutchman was heading south in the Volkswagen Tiguan when he veered into northbound traffic lanes for unknown reasons. The vehicle hit the driver’s side mirror of the Ford F15. The vehicle hit the Chevrolet HRR, causing it to collide with the Cadillac. The vehicle hit the Honda Civic and then the Pontiac Torrent before jumping the curb, crossing the sidewalk and stopping in the parking lot of the nearby BMW dealership.
WASHINGTON, Friday – 12/28/2012, 5:20pm ET – The northbound lanes of Rockville Pike reopened just after 5:15 p.m. Friday after a multi-car accident shut down the northbound lanes near Congressional Plaza.
Montgomery County Police tweeted an update from the accident scene mid-afternoon, alerting drivers that the area of Rockville Pike would remain closed for “several hours.” Specifically, the intersection of Edmonston Drive and Congressional Lane.
Six cars were involved in the accident.
Just before 10:30 a.m. Friday, the 31-year-old driver of a 2011 silver Volkswagen Tiguan who was driving southbound in the 1200 block of Rockville Pike, crossed over into the northbound lanes, a police news release says, which started the accident.
According to the police release, the Volkswagon first hit the driver’s side mirror of a Ford pick-up truck which was stopped in a northbound lane of Rockville Pike. Then, as it continued southbound in the northbound lanes, the Volkswagon’s driver hit a black Chevrolet HHR in the intersection at Templeton Place. The impact caused the Chevrolet to collide with a 2005 burgundy Cadillac SRX.
“The VW then struck a 2009 silver Honda Civic which was stopped in a northbound lane of Rockville Pike. The VW continued and hit a 2009 burgundy Pontiac Torrent which was traveling northbound on Rockville Pike. The VW then jumped the curb, traveled over the sidewalk and came to rest in the parking lot of the BMW dealership on Rockville Pike,” the release says.
The 61-year-old driver of the Chevrolet that was hit in the multi-car accident had potentially life-threatening injuries and was transported to Baltimore for treatment, the release says.
Four other adults were hurt in the accident, including the Volkswagon’s driver and his female passenger, the woman driving the Cadillac and the man driving the Honda Civic. All were listed as having non-life threatening injuries and were taken to a local hospital, the news release says.
“Two of the cars are in the median. Two more are in the northbound lanes. One more is on the curb,” said WTOP’s Rob Woodfork, who was on the scene.
Southbound lanes were down to one lane for a while, but officers opened up the lanes before 2 p.m.
Rockville Pike @ Templeton Pl. collision:NB lanes will remain closed for several hours. One SB lane closed, 2 other SB lanes now open.
— Montgomery Co Police (@mcpnews) December 28, 2012
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