Fiery 12-car crash in Maryland claims the lives of two Harford County residents
Yesterday, the Harford County Sheriff’s Office reported that they were assisting Maryland State Police with a serious crash on Rt. 24 at Ring Factory. Police asked that drivers avoid both Rt. 24 and Rt. 924 in the area due to a serious crash and closed roads along those heavily trafficked areas. And now, Maryland State Police are investigating that crash in which two people died on the morning of March 11 in Harford County.
At approximately 7 a.m., troopers from the Maryland State Police Bel Air Barrack responded to southbound Maryland Route 24 at Ring Factory Road on a report of a multi-vehicle crash. According to a preliminary investigation, traffic was backed up prior to the crash.
At the same time, a tractor-trailer, being driven by Carloo Watson, 49, of Brunswick, New Jersey, was traveling south on Maryland Route 24 when for unknown reasons the driver failed to slow or stop and crashed into multiple vehicles.
The tractor-trailer came to a stop at Ring Factory Road and caught fire, along with two other vehicles that were pinned under the truck. In all, 12 vehicles suffered damage as a result of this crash.
Debris resulting from the crash encompassed a quarter-mile stretch beginning at the Ring Factory Road crash site and extended north toward Bel Air, Maryland.
The deceased victims were identified as Tripp Johnson, 7, of Joppa, Maryland, and Andrew Klein, 65, of Forest Hill, Maryland. Johnson was transported by ambulance to University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, where he was pronounced deceased.
Andrew Klein, 65, of Forest Hill, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. Klein, who most knew as Andy, was president and CEO of Klein’s ShopRite of Maryland. One of his daughters, Sarah Klein, confirmed his death.
Joppa resident Tripp Johnson, 7, was pronounced dead at University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center.
Klein and Johnson were not in the same vehicle, said Ron Snyder, a spokesman for the state police. ~ Per The Baltimore Sun
Johnson was a second-grader attending William Paca / Old Post Road Elementary School.
Watson, the driver of the tractor trailer, was not injured in the crash and did not require transport to the hospital.
The other victims who were hospitalized were identified as the following:
- Ubaldo Juarez, 54, of Bel Air, Maryland. He was transported to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.
- Sharon Sexton, 57, of Forest Hill, Maryland. She was transported to Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center.
- Megan Fulleylove, 30, of Joppa, Maryland. She was transported to Shock Trauma in Baltimore.
Maryland State Police were assisted at the scene by the Harford County Sheriff’s Office, Bel Air Police Department, Harford County Department of Emergency Services and the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration. The Maryland State Police CRASH team and the Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division are assisting in the investigation.
Maryland Route 24 was shut down for several hours as a result of the fatal crash. The investigation into that fatal crash is ongoing.
(Source: MSP)
~ Posted by: Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter
