It occurred late Friday night on I-270 in Montgomery County.
Rockville,Md (KM) Two law enforcement officers were killed while working at a crash scene on Interstate 270 in Montgomery County late Friday night.
State Police say Deputy Chief State Fire Marshal Sander B. Cohen, 33, was traveling along I-270 when he came upon a single vehicle crash on southbound I-270 north of Gude Drive. An Acura MDX SUV was damaged and disabled in the travel portion of the highway. Cohen requested assistance from the Rockville Barrack, and blocked the approach to the damaged vehicle with his personal vehicle, activating his emergency lights..
The driver involved in the crash was FBI Supervisory Special Agent Carlos Wolff, 36, and he agreed to assist at the crash scene..
Both men moved to the fast lane when a Honda Accord heading southbound swerved to the left to avoid striking the vehicles in lane one, but struck both men, throwing the two over the jersey wall into the northbound lanes. Troopers say at least one of the men was struck by an Acura ILX heading northbound.
Cohen was pronounced dead at the scene. Wolff was taken to Suburban Hospital where he too was pronounced dead. The driver of the Honda Accord, Roberto A. Garza Palacios, 28, of Germantown, and two passengers, Mirella Y. Barcena Mormontoy, 23, of Germantown, and Ada G. Sandoval Cortez, 32, of Clarksburg, were also taken to area hospitals. The operator of the Acura, Brittany A. Waters, 32, of Clarksburg, was not hurt, according to troopers..
State Police say due to the extensive crash scenes on both sides of I-270, the north and southbound lanes of the highway were closed. Traffic was diverted off at the exits prior to the scene. All lanes of I-270 were reopened at 6:00 AM on Saturday.
State Police say alcohol does not appear to be a factor in these two crashes, and no charges have been filed at this time.
The cause remains under investigation. When that investigation is completed, a report will be presented to the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office for review.
By Kevin McManus