CHEVERLY, Md. — A tractor-trailer hauling potatoes and onions overturned and spilled its cargo on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway in Maryland on the morning of Dec. 16, causing a partial shutdown of the southbound lanes.
According to WTOP, the accident happened at 1:30 a.m. in the southbound parkway in Cheverly, Maryland, not far from the split with U.S. 50.
It would take almost seven hours to reopen all the lanes after the accident. Drivers were stuck behind the crash until 3:30 a.m. when traffic was diverted to Maryland Route 202 then to New York Avenue at 7:30 a.m. Much of the cleanup was removing the produce that spilled and emptying the truck.
U.S. Park Police Sgt. Thomas Twiname told CBS that the tractor-trailer should not have been on the parkway in the first place. He said that commercial vehicles are not allowed on the National Park Service Road, which include the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, Suitland Parkway, George Washington Memorial Parkway and Rock Creek Parkway.
“We really need drivers, especially the commercial vehicle drivers and commercial vehicle drivers, that are not maybe familiar with the Washington metropolitan area to know they need to be familiar with their routes. They can’t just trust or follow their GPS because, unfortunately, the GPS a lot of times will put them on the park service roadways, where they’re prohibited,” Twiname told WTOP.
The driver of the tractor-trailer sustained minor injuries and will be cited for driving a commercial vehicle on the parkway.
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