A driver suspected of being intoxicated led police on a brief pursuit early Saturday on Interstate 270 before a collision in which he was ejected and killed, Montgomery County Police announced.
Two other people were injured as well, they said in a news release.
The accident investigation and reconstruction closed all northbound and southbound lanes on portions of I-270 for several hours Saturday morning, according to the Alert Montgomery system and Tweets from Montgomery County Fire & Rescue Services. By 11:07 a.m., Alert Montgomery announced that all southbound lanes had reopened. Officials still warned of major delays and encouraged drivers to seek alternate routes.
Police responded at about 5:01 a.m. to a request for a welfare check for a car stopped in the middle lane on the ramp of Rockledge Road, according to the release.
There, officers encountered a man who they believed to be intoxicated and saw a gun on his lap, police said; when they tried to prevent him from driving away, he drove off northbound on I-270.
Officers initiated a brief pursuit, and the driver crashed on I-270, south of route 28, police said. The driver was ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead on the scene, according to the release.
Two adults in a separate vehicle were transported to an area hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
The Maryland State Police Crash Team and the Maryland Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division responded to the location. The investigation has been handed over to the Attorney General’s Independent Investigations Division.
Montgomery County Police did not immediately respond to a question about whether the chase adhered to rules regarding police pursuits.