A multi-vehicle crash along Interstate 81 left one person dead and traffic blocked off for hours on Monday, Jan. 30.
The Maryland truck accident occurred around 3:00 p.m. when the driver of a tractor-trailer crossed the highway median just north of Marshall Street in Hagerstown and smashed into oncoming traffic.
Benson Lewis, a 62-year-old truck driver from Dallas, was traveling southbound on I-81 carrying a load of 70,000 pounds of plastic. His wife, 44-year-old Tammie Lewis, was a passenger in the truck.
For reasons that remain unclear, Lewis crossed the median directly into northbound traffic, where he collided head-on with a 2005 Toyota Avalon. The impact sent the smaller vehicle over an embankment, killing the driver, 42-year-old Leroy Corbin of Huntingdon, Pa. Corbin died upon impact, according to police who responded to the accident.
The tractor-trailer was then rear-ended by a 2006 Ford F-150 driven by Mark Siegrist, who was unable to stop in time to avoid the crash. A fourth vehicle, a 2008 Saturn VUE driven by Shelly Jason of Hagerstown, was also involved in the accident.
The tractor-trailer finally came to a stop with the top half of the truck resting on the top of a guardrail in the southbound lanes.
Lewis, his wife and Jason were all taken to Meritus Medical Center, where they were treated for non-life threatening injuries. Siegrist refused treatment.
Maryland State Police closed off a portion of the interstate for more than seven hours, rerouting traffic until late in the evening. Police are still piecing together the cause of the accident.
The Maryland truck accident attorneys at Nickelsporn & Lundin express our sympathies to the family of Leroy Corbin, who died in the accident.