Posted on Jan 31, 2012
A three-vehicle accident in Prince George’s County on December 5 involved minimal injury or damage but left a road closed for nine hours.

A passenger car, box truck, and gasoline tanker were all involved in the crash along the southbound lanes of Route 3 near Route 450.

Ngozi Onuma, 21, was driving a Mercury Grand Marquis. She was attempting to merge onto southbound Route 3 from Route 450 about 9:30 p.m. when she was hit.

Marc Gregorio, 40, was driving a box truck along southbound Route 3 when, for reasons still unknown, he collided with Onuma’s car. He then lost control of the truck and veered into a neighboring lane, where his vehicle was hit.

Nathaniel Tiggle, 40, was driving a Fleet Transport Inc. tanker loaded down with 9,000 gallons of gasoline. He tried to avoid the accident but couldn’t. Instead, he slammed into the back of Gregorio’s truck before overturning onto the highway.

Tiggle was taken to Bowie Health Center for treatment and then released. Neither of the other two drivers wanted medical treatment.

Maryland State Police say the accident caused only minimal environmental damage. When cleaning crews lifted up the tanker truck to get it upright, 100 gallons of gas spilled, which was less than they expected.

A portion of Route 3 was closed for nearly nine hours as crews cleaned up the mess. The cause of the accident is still under investigation.

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