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Two tractor-trailers collided on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge on March 26, sending both drivers to the hospital with injuries. Traffic was backed up for miles following the crash, which closed off the west side of the bridge. Details of the accident are as follows:
Two people suffered non-life-threatening injuries after a two-truck wreck in Stevensville. The accident took place on the westbound lanes of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge shortly after noon. Both drivers were taken to Anne Arundel Medical Center for treatment of injuries. Neither driver was identified, and both are expected to survive their injuries.
According to a preliminary police report from the Maryland Transportation Authority Police, it appears that one tractor-trailer had started to slow down or stop in the right lane of traffic while on the bridge. The driver of the second tractor-trailer crashed into the back of the first one. Police believe the second driver may have been going too fast or following the first truck too closely. A spokesperson for the MTA noted that a wind restriction was in effect at the time of the crash, but at this time it does not appear that wind contributed to the wreck.
The accident snarled up traffic on Route 50 for five hours while workers attempted to pry the two trucks from each other. Both trucks were leaking fuel and had to be drained. Both vehicles were towed from the scene, the first at 3:40 and the second at 4:30. It took cleanup crews another 45 minutes to clear up the rest of the debris involved in the crash. The two right lanes of traffic were closed the entire time, and the third lane was closed at times to allow emergency vehicles to get to the scene. According to one account, traffic was backed up nearly five and a half miles, all the way to the Kent Narrows Bridge.