Wednesday, April 22, 2015

FIERY ROUTE 404 CRASH IN MARYLAND BETWEEN TRACTOR TRAILERS KILLS 3 AND A DOG








APRIL 21, 2015

CORDOVA, MARYLAND

Three people and a dog died early Tuesday morning, April 21, in a fiery head-on crash of two tractor-trailers on state Route 404, police said.

Brian Hutcheson, 38, of Ramer, Tenn., was driving a 2016 Mack tractor-trailer west on Route 404 when the rig crossed the double yellow lines, sideswiping a 2015 Freightliner tractor-trailer, Maryland State Police said. The crash happened just before 7 a.m. Tuesday, April 21, near the intersection of Route 404 and Church Lane.

Hutcheson's Mack continued west in the wrong lane and crashed head-on into a 2013 Kenworth tractor-trailer traveling east on the highway. Terry Coward, 52, of Culpepper, Va., was driving the Kenworth. His trailer had a load of lumber, according to troopers at the scene.

The crash caused the Kenworth to burst into flames and the vehicle became totally engulfed, police said. The occupants were unable to safely exit their vehicles.

Coward, Hutcheson, Hutcheson's passenger, Danielle Mumford, 24, of Delmar, Del., and a pet dog in Hutcheson's semi died at the scene, police said.

The driver of the sideswiped Freightliner, Michael Shovan, 52, of Waynesboro, Penn., was not injured during the crash, police said.

Because of the severity of the crash, Route 404 between U.S. Route 50 and Church Lane was closed for several hours, police said.  

Responding to the scene were state troopers from the Easton Barracks, the state police CRASH Team, Queen Anne-Hillsboro Volunteer Fire Company, the Talbot County Sheriff's Office and the State Highway Administration. 

The Department of the Environment also responded to handle cleanup of a fuel spill, and canines and a helicopter were called to the scene to search the area to make sure all the victims had been found, police said. 

Police asked anyone who witnessed the crash to contact Tfc. C. Gore at the Easton Barracks at 410-819-4753.