Two killed in three-car crash

Thursday, Dec. 28, 2006

Two people were killed early Thursday morning in a three-car crash on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway near Laurel, police said.

U.S. Park Police were withholding their identities pending notification of their families.

At about 5:50 a.m., a tan Chevrolet Cavalier traveling southbound just north of Route 197 in Anne Arundel County crossed the grass median and struck two northbound vehicles, killing the female driver of the Cavalier and the male driver of a white Infiniti, the first northbound car struck, said Lt. Scott Fear, a U.S. Park Police spokesman.

Both drivers were pronounced dead at the scene, Fear said.

A male passenger was extricated from the second northbound vehicle, a blue Toyota pickup, and transported via ambulance to Laurel Regional Hospital with minor injuries, according to police and Anne Arundel County firefighters. The pickup’s male driver was uninjured, Fear said.

Police and firefighters declined to release further information about the identities of the persons involved in the accident.

Fear said Thursday morning that it was too early in the investigation to release information about a possible cause or contributing factors.

Northbound lanes on the Parkway were closed between Route 197 and Route 198 for the duration of rush hour and remained closed late Thursday morning, Fear said. Drivers were being rerouted onto northbound Route 197, then to eastbound Route 198 and back to the Parkway, the spokesman said.

Rubbernecking continued to slow southbound traffic around 10:30 a.m. as tow trucks removed vehicles from the scene, Fear said.

Police were assisted by firefighters from Maryland City, Prince George’s County and Fort Meade.