The woman pronounced dead after the Sept. 25 three-vehicle crash on Interstate 81 near Williamsport has been identified by Maryland State Police as Kathleen Hitch, 36, of Falling Waters, West Virginia.
The crash shut down a stretch of northbound I-81, a bit north of the bridge from West Virginia, for more than 8 hours on Thursday, according to a state police spokesperson.
The local state police barrack reported that I-81 reopened at 8:48 p.m. Thursday, which is about 12 hours after the crash was reported. Often the interstate partially reopens before all lanes are cleared for traffic to resume.
The crash, which was reported around 8:30 a.m. Sept. 25, occurred just south of mile marker 2, which is south of the exit for U.S. 11 (Virginia Avenue).
The incident involved two tractor-trailers and a Honda Civic, which was driven by Hitch, state police said.
The two truck drivers were taken to Meritus Medical Center via ambulance for treatment of their injuries, state police spokesperson Kyleigh Beaver has said.
Those truck drivers were Charles Fields, 60, of Knoxville, Maryland, and Luis Manuel Rodriguez, 60, of Vineland, New Jersey, according to an update Beaver provided Sept. 26.
Fields was in good condition the morning of Sept. 26, according to a hospital spokesperson. Rodriguez was not listed in the hospital register in the morning.
Beaver said she believed both truck drivers’ injuries were considered nonlife-threatening.
Fields was driving a FedEx tractor-trailer and Rodriguez was driving a Landstar Ranger Inc. tractor-trailer out of Jacksonville, Florida, Beaver wrote.
None of the three vehicles was carrying passengers and there were no other injuries reported at the scene.
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What we know about the cause of the I-81 crash
According to the preliminary investigation, the FedEx tractor-trailer was trying to slow down in traffic when it was hit from behind by the Honda, state police said.
That impact caused the tractor-trailer to strike the Landstar tractor-trailer, state police said.
Hitch was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Washington County Emergency Services Director R. David Hays has said the FedEx cab was pulling two trailers.
The Maryland State Police Crash Team is leading the ongoing investigation into the crash.
The Maryland State Highway Administration assisted state police with the road closure, Beaver wrote. The state police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division also assisted on scene.
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Northbound I-81 crash in Washington County also was hazmat incident
The Landstar truck was hauling drums containing “a highly flammable chemical” used to manufacture perfume, according to Jay Apperson, spokesperson for the Maryland Department of the Environment.
Hays said 20 drums came out of the trailer and six were leaking or damaged to the point where there was concern they could leak.
Apperson, in an email, said environmental officials estimated about 50 gallons of the chemical leaked. “Some got onto the ground, but we do not believe any got into any waterways,” he wrote.
Hays said responding units included the county Division of Emergency Services’ hazmat unit, Williamsport fire and EMS, Halfway fire and EMS, the Funkstown fire department, the county rehab unit, fire police and an ambulance from Berkeley County, West Virginia.
Apperson said a contractor retained by the trucking company hauling the drums was on scene Thursday afternoon completing the cleanup.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Maryland State Police identifies drivers in I-81 fatal crash