MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. — A 24-year-old has been taken into custody after a crash on Interstate-270 in Montgomery County left a woman dead.
Maryland State Police are investigating the multi-vehicle crash, where a 2015 Tesla Model S ran into a 2007 Toyota Sienna just after 3:30 a.m. on Sunday.
Troopers from the Maryland State Police Rockville Barrack responded to northbound I-270 south of Montrose Road where they believed two separate, but related crashes took place.
Police said that, according to a preliminary investigation, both cars were traveling north on I-270 when the Tesla hit the Toyota. Both cars then came to a stop on the interstate.
The driver and two of the five other passengers of the Toyota stayed in their car following the crash.
Then, a 2015 Chevrolet Cruze was traveling north on I-270 and attempted to swerve out of the way, but ultimately rear-ended the Toyota.
Officials found one of the passengers in the Toyota, 35-year-old Sandra Lorena Morales De Arevala, dead on the scene. Two other men in the Toyota were taken to Inova Trauma Center for treatment of their injuries.
The driver of the Tesla, Thabiso Mandela Mokuena, 24, was taken into custody for suspicion of impaired driving.
Mokuena was taken to the Maryland State Police Rockville Barrack before he was released after troopers consulted with the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office, police said.
"Once the investigation is complete, the findings will be turned over to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office to determine what charges should be filed in this case. The Maryland State Police Crash Team is continuing to investigate the crash," police stated Sunday.
