A person is dead after a fatal crash on the Inner Loop of the Capital Beltway involving a motor scooter and a tractor trailer, which led to major delays in the area.
The crash happened on the Inner Loop of the Beltway, after the Baltimore-Washington Parkway at exit 22.
Maryland State Police said the driver of a Kawasaki 50cc Scooter Wolf, similar to a Vespa, struck the side of a tractor trailer while traveling southbound on the Beltway at Maryland Route 295, just south of Greenbelt.
The scooter has a maximum speed of 35 mph, according to the manufacturer’s website, and officials said that vehicle classification type is not allowed on the Beltway.
The crash investigation initially closed all but the right lane, which got past on the right shoulder, leading to 5 miles of stop-and-go traffic slowing traffic on the Inner Loop through College Park and Greenbelt.
The lanes reopened shortly before 3 p.m.
On the Outer Loop toward the American Legion Bridge, an unrelated crash in Montgomery County near Colesville Road was creating long delays in the opposite direction. Drivers approaching the beltway from I-95 will have delays on either loop.
[google_map latitude=”38.991710″ longitude=”-76.886365″ zoom=”12″ height=”300px” location_label=”Beltway Crash” dynamic_map=”true”]
Stay with WTOP for more on this developing story.