A six-car pileup on the Beltway during the morning rush hour left two dead and two injured Aug. 2.

Maryland State Police are still trying to piece together exactly what started the deadly chain reaction just south of Ritchie Malboro Road. They believe alcohol may have been a factor.

The initial crash occurred when a 2006 Ford Freestyle and a 1994 Honda Civic, both traveling in the northbound outer loop of the Beltway, collided. It is uncertain what caused this initial collision.

The Ford Freestyle spun out of control and landed in the ditch. Police suspect the driver may have been drinking and have not yet released his name pending charges.

The driver of the Civic was Rodolfo U.V. Amaya, 31, of Oxon Hill. He died in the crash.

After the initial collision, Amaya's vehicle collided with a third vehicle traveling on the outer loop, a 1997 Toyota Camry driven by Charline Starks, 50, of Waldorf.

Both Amaya's and Starks' vehicles then smashed into a guardrail in the median separating the outer and inner loops of the Beltway. Starks' Camry came to a stop in the fast lane of the inner loop.

After hitting the guardrail, Amaya's Civic went airborne over the median and into the inner loop. He landed on the roof of a 2006 BMW driven by Candace Mays Hewitt, 41, of Davidsonville. She was traveling on the southbound inner loop of the Beltway.

Amaya's vehicle rolled off the BMW and onto the roof of a 2002 Toyota Rav4 driven by Jose I. Buevara, 30, of Laurel. All three vehicles then came to a stop.

A sixth vehicle, a 2010 Honda Accord driven by Linda S. Pike, 56, of Crofton, was hit by debris from the crash.

Both Amaya and Hewitt (in the BMW) died in the crash. Starks and Buevara, the drivers of the Camry and Rav4 respectively, were taken to Prince George's Hospital for treatment of injuries.