Two men were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries Aug. 4 after the car they were riding in collided with a dump truck in Bowie and flipped, said Mark Brady, a spokesman for the Prince George’s County Fire/EMS Department.

Route 3 was temporarily closed, and the two men were trapped in a Chevrolet passenger car and had to be extricated. They were taken to Prince George’s Hospital Center in Cheverly, said Cpl. Jason Bramble with the Maryland State Police College Park Barrack.

The collision happened about noon on southbound Route 3 near Forest Drive south of the entrance to Bowie’s White Marsh Park, according to Una Cooper, spokeswoman for the city of Bowie.

According to Maryland State Police Trooper B. Thomas, who investigated the crash, the driver of the dump truck was in the southbound left lane of Route 3 and tried to turn in to the right lane behind the Chevrolet, striking the car’s left rear panel.

The car spun, and the truck hit the car again as the car began flipping over in front of the dump truck, which was traveling downhill as the driver applied the brakes, Thomas said.

Part of the car then hit the left guardrail, causing it to flip over the rail and into a ravine, landing on its roof, he said.

Thomas said both men in the car were wearing seatbelts, which saved their lives.

“Absolutely, no doubt about it,” said Thomas.

The driver of the dump truck, who was not injured, was cited for failure to control speed to avoid a collision and with following too closely to a vehicle, Thomas said.

vterhune@gazette.net