Maryland State Trooper Sustains Injuries After Chain Reaction Crash On I-495
FORESTVILLE, Md. (WJZ) -- A Maryland State Trooper sustained injuries after being struck and pinned to a guardrail due to a chain reaction crash while investigating a motor vehicle crash.
Trooper Warren Thompson, 42, was struck Tuesday morning outside of his marked patrol car on the outer loop of Interstate 495.
There were a total of five cars involved in the chain reaction crash. All drivers were the sole occupants of their vehicles.
Jeremy Merritt, 48, of Hampton, Virginia, and Carl Meade, 50, of Thornburg, Virginia, are both being charged with failure to control speed to avoid collision.
The preliminary investigation indicates that just after 10 a.m., Trooper Thompson was dispatched to a report of a multi-vehicle crash on the outer loop of I-495 at Pennsylvania Ave.
Thompson's marked patrol vehicle was parked on the right shoulder with his emergency lights activated when the chain reaction occurred.
For unknown reasons, Merritt reportedly struck the rear portion of one driver's vehicle. This caused a chain reaction causing one vehicle to be pushed onto the right shoulder, which then struck Thompson and pinned him against the guardrail.
Thompson was on the scene for about an hour before being struck. He was transported by ambulance to the University of Maryland Prince George's Hospital Center. Trooper Thompson has since then been treated and released.
