MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — A Pennsylvania woman is dead and nine others are injured after Maryland State Police say an alleged drunk driver heading the wrong way on the Beltway crashed into two cars Tuesday night.
Just before 11:45 p.m., the police received multiple calls about a vehicle traveling southbound in the northbound lanes of Interstate 270, near Rockledge Drive in Montgomery County. Through an initial investigation, police were able to determine that a white Mercedes SUV, driven by a 23-year-old Jayleen Hannor, of Macon, Georgia, continued driving in the wrong direction to the outer loop of I-495.
The Mercedes then crashed into two vehicles – a Lexus and a Nissan Pathfinder – in the area of I-495 at Maryland Route 355 before continuing onward.
Police say Hannor continued to drive until he bailed out of the Mercedes and fled on foot in the area of Connecticut Avenue, where he was eventually taken into police custody.
Detectives say Hannor faces multiple charges including driving under the influence of alcohol and failure to to immediately return and remain at the scene of a deadly crash, with additional charges pending.
The five adults that were in the Lexus were injured and taken to area hospitals for treatment. The two adults and three children that were in the Nissan suffered injures. The driver of the Nissan, later identified as 36-year-old Elizabeth Velez of Easton, Pennsylvania, was taken to a local hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Velez is a mother of three children, ages 2, 5, and 15, all of whom were passengers in the Nissan at the time of the crash.
The front seat passenger in the Nissan is identified as 36-year-old John Tejada of Pennsylvania.
Tejada and the three children are recovering at an area hospital.
WUSA9 spoke with a witness who told us he saw the driver speed past him, and then later helped the crash victims.
"I remember getting a look at the back of it and it had Georgia tags. I said to my wife, 'Man, that guy is driving way too fast. We watched this car just ... zig-zagging, sharp zig-zagging, not even signaling," the driver said. "I said to her 'That's an accident waiting to happen.'"
The outer loop of I-495 was closed following the crash.
The Maryland State Police Crash Team is leading the ongoing investigation.