WASHINGTON — A woman is dead after her vehicle crashed into a tree on the Suitland Parkway in Maryland Friday morning.
At approximately 7:19 a.m., police responded to reports of a crash on the inbound lanes of Suitland Parkway, before Branch Avenue. When they arrived on the scene, they found a single vehicle crashed into a tree.
The victim, a woman in her late 20s, of Suitland, Maryland, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The woman’s car was the only vehicle involved in the crash, according to a preliminary investigation. Police believe speed and weather conditions may have contributed to the collision.
Prior to the crash, WTOP Traffic Center received several reports of a large patch of ice in the vicinity of the bridge that carries Metro’s Green Line above the parkway. The crash occurred very close to where the ice patch was reported.
Although it hasn’t rained or snowed recently, the water table remains high and the few puddles that didn’t evaporate this week quickly froze given the early morning sub-freezing temperatures. There were several other morning spin-outs on a patch of ice north of the Suitland Parkway on the ramp from Route 4 to the Outer Loop of the Beltway.
The scene remains under investigation. The U.S. Park Police is seeking assistance from the public and encourages anyone who may have witnessed anything before the crash contact their tip line at (202)-610-8737.
Below is a map of where the crash approximately occurred:
WTOP’s Dave Dildine contributed to this report.
