A fiery crash involving a dump truck on the Capital Beltway in Maryland on Monday sent several people to the hospital, including two children.
The crash shut down all Outer Loop lanes for hours, diverting traffic to Allentown Road. Around 6 p.m., all southbound lanes have reopened, while two left lanes remain blocked northbound.
The first crash happened around 10:45 a.m. on the Outer Loop of Interstate 495 at Pennsylvania Avenue. Crews found an overturned dump truck on fire. At least six people were taken to the hospital, including two in “critical condition,” Prince George’s County Fire/EMs Department said.
The driver and a child passenger of the dump truck were taken to a burn center in D.C., Maryland State Police said. Two passengers in an SUV, one of whom was also a child, were also taken to the hospital.
Police said the truck was traveling northbound on I-495 when it blew a tire, which caused it to go into the southbound lanes, where it overturned and then caught on fire. The crash damaged an overhead sign structure, Maryland Department of Transportation said. At the same time, an SUV traveling southbound overturned as it tried to avoid the truck.
Hazmat crews were on the scene, and the investigation is ongoing.
The Outer Loop of I-495 reopened all four lanes around 8:30 p.m., according to the WTOP Traffic Center.
Below is the area where it happened.
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