Updated 8:50 a.m.: About two dozen people were injured and all southbound lanes of I-270 were closed for two hours Monday morning after about 20 vehicles crashed on the highway near Middlebrook Road in Germantown, according to Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Service spokesman Pete Piringer.
Medics have taken four people to the hospital, including two trauma patients, according to Piringer. None of the injuries were considered life-threatening. EMS teams declared the crash a “mass casualty incident.”
The multivehicle crash occurred at about 5:30 a.m., Piringer wrote on Twitter. One vehicle was a truck carrying slabs of slate that then fell onto the highway.
Southbound I-270 was closed between Middlebrook Road and Montgomery Village Avenue. Two lanes were opened at about 7:30 a.m. All lanes were reopened by 8:50 a.m.
CLOSED Sb 270 btwn 118 & 124 Tractor trailer & multiple vehicles involved #MDtraffic #SkyTrak7 #GMW pic.twitter.com/etl3EoLgTR
— Julie Wright (@thejuliewright) March 19, 2018
Accident cleanup closes all lanes of SB I-270 at Middlebrook Rd (Exit 13). Expect significant delays. Seek alternate route. #mdtraffic pic.twitter.com/DyWHMz1C7Q
— MC Emergency Mgmt (@ReadyMontgomery) March 19, 2018
This story was updated at 4:50 p.m. to correct a reference to a truck carrying rocks. The truck did not overturn, and the rocks were not the initial cause of the crash.