Trooper Injured In Beltway Crash In PG County: Police

FORESTVILLE, MD — A Maryland State Police trooper is recovering after being pinned to a guardrail due to a chain-reaction crash on the Beltway in Prince George's County on Tuesday.

Trooper Warren Thompson, 42, was investigating a motor vehicle crash at around 10 a.m. and was outside of his marked patrol vehicle when he was struck on the outer loop of I-495 at Pennsylvania Avenue, according to an MSP report.

A total of five vehicles were involved in the crash, all occupied only by the driver. One of them was taken to the hospital by ambulance; the other four were uninjured. Two of them were charged with failure to control speed to avoid collision, according to the report.

"Trooper Thompson’s marked patrol vehicle was parked on the right shoulder with his emergency lights activated when the chain reaction occurred," the report states. "State Police investigators advised while Trooper Thompson was on scene investigating, two other crashes occurred within seconds prior to Trooper Thompson being struck."

It started with one driver striking the rear of another vehicle, which then struck the rear of a third vehicle, police say. Then, a dump truck struck the rear of one of the three vehicles, pushing another vehicle into a third vehicle which then struck Thompson, pinning him between the vehicle and the guardrail, the report adds.

Thompson had been on the scene for about an hour before he was struck as a result of the multi-vehicle collision. He was sent to a local hospital, where he was treated and released.

"Troopers from the Forestville Barrack, Maryland State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division and Prince George’s County Emergency personnel responded to the scene," the report adds. "Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration personnel responded to assist with lane closures. Lane four was closed for approximately one hour."