Driver Arrested After Three-Vehicle Crash on Baltimore-Washington Parkway Sends Six People to Hospitals Near Riverdale Road Early Saturday
EAST RIVERDALE, MD — Six people were taken to hospitals after an early Saturday crash involving three vehicles on southbound Baltimore-Washington Parkway at Riverdale Road, according to U.S. Park Police. Officials later arrested one of the drivers.
Police said the injuries were not life-threatening, but they did not identify the people involved or explain what led to the arrest. The collision happened before dawn and tied up a stretch of the busy parkway used by drivers moving between Prince George’s County and the Washington area.
Fire crews found people trapped in the wreckage
Prince George’s County Fire and EMS said crews were called around 2:42 a.m. and found multiple people trapped after the crash. Emergency responders worked at the scene before taking patients to hospitals.
Fire officials said they transported four people: two 16-year-old girls, a 9-year-old boy and a 46-year-old woman. The agency described their injuries as serious but not life-threatening. U.S. Park Police separately said six people overall were hospitalized.
Police have not said who was arrested
U.S. Park Police said one of the drivers was arrested after the crash, but the agency has not identified that person. Investigators also have not said what charge or charges may be involved.
The lack of detail leaves several basic questions unanswered, including how the three vehicles collided and whether speed, impairment or another factor played any role. For now, officials have only confirmed that the investigation is active and that the people hurt were expected to survive.
Riverdale Road stretch has seen other serious wrecks
The crash happened on a section of the parkway that connects major commuting routes in Maryland and the District. Riverdale Road is a familiar point of reference for drivers in the East Riverdale area, where traffic can move quickly through a mix of local and regional trips.
The incident came one week after a separate fiery crash on the parkway’s northbound lanes near Maryland Route 197 killed two people and sent four others to hospitals. That earlier wreck added to concern about safety on the roadway, though officials have not linked the two crashes.
Officials say the investigation is still open
Saturday’s collision remains under investigation by U.S. Park Police. The agency has not released a timeline for any further updates or said whether additional information will be made public as the case develops.
For now, the confirmed facts are limited to the number of people hurt, the time and location of the crash, and the arrest of one driver. Authorities have not said when the injured victims were expected to be released from the hospital.
What is known so far about the victims and injuries
Officials described the injuries as non-life-threatening, even though several victims required hospital treatment. The ages identified by Prince George’s County Fire and EMS suggest the crash involved both children and adults, underscoring the severity of the scene responders encountered.
Because police have not identified the drivers or the passengers, it is not clear how each person was connected to the three vehicles. Authorities have also not said whether all six hospitalized people came from the same vehicle group or were spread across the crash scene.
