May 27, 2008 5:38 pm US/Eastern
Police Investigate Fatal I-97 Accident
GLEN BURNIE, Md. (WJZ) ―
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Maryland State Police's accident reconstruction team is working the case to figure out what caused the accident that claimed the life of a pregnant woman and the baby she was carrying.
Maryland State Police's accident reconstruction team is working the case to figure out what caused the accident that claimed the life of a pregnant woman and the baby she was carrying.
Sky Eye Chopper 13 was over Friday's crash that killed 31-year-old Maria Lizana-Sanchez. She was seven months pregnant when a FedEx tractor trailer slammed in the rear of the Dodge Caravan she was riding in along southbound I-97 in Anne Arundel County. She and her husband, who was driving the minivan, were flown to Shock Trauma.
"Doctors at Shock Trauma did deliver a baby, but the baby did die a short time later. Ms. Lizana-Sanchez died shortly after delivering the baby," said Sgt. Arthur Betts.
The deaths are heartbreaking to neighbors who live in the same Glen Burnie apartment complex as the victim.
"That's just really hard that you could even imagine that you could leave home and don't even come back," said neighbor Mary Long.
Anne Arundel County Police had shut down Interstate 97 to allow for a funeral procession coming onto the highway from Route 100.
County police say at least 45 cars on I-97 had come to a complete stop for about a minute, when for some reason the tractor trailer failed to stop and slammed into Sanchez's minivan and several other vehicles, causing a chain reaction crash.
County police say they're reviewing their funeral procedures.
"This was done in an area where our officers deemed it safe to do as far as visibility. Numerous motorists were able to see that the roadway was, in fact, closed," Betts said.
A county police spokesman says since last May, they've performed more than 150 funeral escorts, adding it is not uncommon for them to have to temporarily shut down parts of a major highway.
"We in many cases take the most direct route. In this particular case, I-97 was the most direct route," Betts said.
Six other people, including Sanchez's husband, had to be hospitalized for their injuries.
State police say they'll turn the findings of their accident investigation over to the state's attorney's office, which will have the final decision to file charges against the drive of the tractor trailer.
State police say their department alone is investigating four car crashes involving six fatalities from this holiday weekend.
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