A Maryland woman died after an accident along the side of Interstate 70 the afternoon of Aug. 9.

Corethia Areia Cross, age 56, was trying to fix a broken-down truck on the shoulder of eastbound I-70 going up toward South Mountain when the accident occurred.

The 2005 Volvo tractor-trailer is owned by Gunthers Enterprises LLC of Hanover, Md. Cross was a co-driver for the vehicle, and Melvin Harvey, 47, of Rocky Mount, N.C. was the other driver.

The truck started to overheat going up the mountain so the duo stopped to make repairs near the Frederick County border.

For reasons unknown, a 2004 Ford F550 tow truck veered off the road and crashed into the back of the tractor trailer at about 2:30 p.m.

Cross was working near the front of the tractor trailer when the crash occurred. The impact caused the truck to slam into Cross, pushing her into a guardrail.

She suffered critical injuries and was flown to Meritus Medical Center, where the Dundalk resident later died.

Police are still trying to determine why 44-year-old Lance W. McCloud of Kearneysville, W. Va., left the road. According to witnesses, there was no interference from nearby vehicles.

The tow truck McCloud was driving is owned by South Berkeley Wrecker Service of Martinsburg, W. Va.
McCloud was taken to Meritus Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. Harvey was uninjured in the accident.

A Maryland State Police team especially equipped to handle accidents involving commercial vehicles is still investigating the cause of the crash.