BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON PARKWAY CRASH
LAUREL, MD (April 18, 2025) - All southbound lanes of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway were closed overnight due to a serious 2-vehicle crash overnight. US Park Police state that the crash happened just before 2a.m., in the area of Route 197 in Laurel, Maryland.
Park Police personnel reported that 1 person died, who was reported to be a minor. A second minor was transported to an area hospital with injuries that were described as life-threatening.
Four other people were also transported to local hospitals, reportedly 2 minors and 2 adults. While no specific information was released on their injuries, the police stated they were "not life threatening."
The BW Parkway's southbound lanes were completely shut down between Rt. 197 and Powder Mill Road. As of this writing (8am), they remain blocked.
No information has been released as to how the crash occurred, and whether the deceased minor was a driver of any vehicle. No indication or suggestion has been made whether alcohol may have been involved.
As a result of the closure, traffic was unusually heavy with diverted vehicles Route 1 and I-95.
Blaszkow Legal extends its deepest sympathies to the family of the young person killed, and we wish a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured.
Baltimore-Washington Parkway Car Accidents
Car accidents on the BW Parkway are incredibly common, and often result in serious injuries. The parkway is, in many places, quite narrow, with a modest shoulder (if any at all, in parts). Many collisions involve vehicles leaving the roadway and going up or down embankments, and into trees. These factors can make these crashes worse than normal in terms of injuries sustained.
Often times, after serious crashes have been investigated, the US Park Police will release a statement that is picked up by local media, and will give certain details of the crash. This is often fine for public consumption, but it does not answer many of the underlying questions families have - questions that will have significance in any later, civil claim.
Civil vs Police Traffic Investigations
Police investigations of crashes tend to focus on the circumstances of the crash, and the mechanism of the collision itself: what hit what first, second, and third. Their job is to put the sequence of events in the right order, based off of witness interviews, involved party interviews, and in the case of fatal accidents or serious crashes, with a detailed reconstruction of the crash.
Regular police officers are trained to investigate crashes, but not to do detailed reconstructions. These are often done by specially trained crash investigators and accident reconstructionists. Nowadays, computers do much of the work after a scene is "imaged." Imaging is technology that instantly measures distances between objects and a fixed point, and digitally creates a 3D map of the scene.
In a civil investigation, this same thing will be done, but civil investigators have to go even farther into the specifics of a crash, and those involved. In a civil investigation, it is imperative to discover whose negligence caused the crash, and whose negligence contributed to the circumstances thereof, such as companies, liquor stores, bars, and people who negligently entrust vehicles to someone they should not have.
Because information can be lost over time, it is vital to start a civil investigation immediately, which means retaining a lawyer who can do that.
Hiring a Maryland Car Accident Lawyer
It is very important to call a lawyer right away. In tragic cases, such as this one, it is often the case that there is not enough insurance coverage to fully compensate the people who have been hurt. This requires a deep review of insurance to see if there is other coverage, such as household insurance policies that can offer "underinsured motorist coverage."
In these fatal crashes, there often arises conflicts of interest between the various people involved, because so many people are going after finite insurance coverages. Passengers can have claims against drivers of the vehicle they were in, and since the Bar does not permit lawyers to represent two people in such a case, one lawyer cannot represent the driver and the passenger (where those conflicts exist, or are possible).
In short, there are many many legal issues present, and you as an injured person have enough to deal with, namely focusing on your medical treatment, rather than dealing with the stresses of who is paying for what, when.
If you have been hurt in any Maryland or BW Parkway Crash, then call us for a free consultation anywhere in the DMV. We are ready, willing, and able, to fight for you!
Note: When creating these blog posts, our team of writers utilizes external sources, including local and state news sources, social media platforms, police accident incident reports, state police accident reports, and, at times, eyewitness accounts. Please contact us immediately if you discover any incorrect information so that we can update the post with the most current, accurate information available.
Disclaimer: This post is not a business solicitation, and none of the information provided in this blog post should be interpreted as medical or legal advice. If you have been injured in an accident, seek immediate medical attention.
