Arbutus, MD — April 8, 2025, one person was killed and three others were injured in a truck accident at about 3:30 a.m. on Interstate 95.

Authorities said a Jeep Cherokee was headed south near Interstate 695 when it crashed into the back of a dump truck. The Jeep driver apparently got out of his vehicle before being hit by a Subaru as it collided with the dump truck as well.

The Jeep driver, whose name has not been made public, was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash, according to authorities. The other drivers and a passenger in the dump truck were hospitalized with unspecified injuries.

Authorities have not released any additional information about the Baltimore County crash at this time. The accident is still under investigation.

Commentary

Crashes involving multiple vehicles in the early morning hours on interstates like I-95 often come down to one thing: limited visibility and limited reaction time. In this case, a Jeep Cherokee reportedly rear-ended a dump truck, and the driver exited the vehicle before being fatally struck by another car that also collided with the truck. Several others were hospitalized in the aftermath.

From a legal perspective, this kind of crash presents a layered set of issues. The first question is whether the dump truck was moving with traffic, stopped or moving unusually slow when the Jeep hit it. Dump trucks, especially when partially loaded or traveling between job sites, can behave differently than other highway traffic. If it was stopped in a travel lane or moving below the flow of traffic without proper lighting or hazard warnings, that could be a factor in both collisions.

That said, rear-ending another vehicle is often taken as a sign that the following driver wasn’t maintaining a safe distance or wasn’t paying full attention, especially at night. But it’s not always that simple. If the dump truck had dim or missing taillights, wasn’t using proper reflective markings or if the road curved or dipped in a way that concealed it from view, the fault may not lie entirely with the driver who struck it. That’s why investigators should closely examine the lighting and reflective surfaces on the truck, as well as pull black box data and any available traffic camera footage.

The second major issue is what happened after the initial crash. The Jeep driver reportedly exited their vehicle before being struck by the Subaru. That raises another difficult but common question in highway incidents: What are drivers supposed to do after a collision, especially on a dark, high-speed road? While exiting a disabled vehicle can be the safer option in some cases, it also exposes a person to additional risk if they’re on foot in or near travel lanes.

For the Subaru driver, the core question is whether they had any chance to avoid the crash. At 3:30 a.m., reaction time is everything. If the road wasn’t fully illuminated, and if the dump truck and wrecked Jeep were still blocking the lane, there may have been little or no warning. The law expects drivers to be alert, but it also recognizes that there are limits to what can be avoided when a hazard appears suddenly and unexpectedly.

This crash will require a close look at not just how the first collision happened, but also what steps were taken — or not taken — afterward to prevent further harm. Did anyone activate hazard lights? Were emergency services called immediately? Were flares or cones used to warn oncoming traffic? The answers to those questions could determine whether the second collision, and the fatal outcome, could have been prevented.

Ultimately, multi-vehicle highway crashes in the early morning hours are among the most dangerous scenarios on the road. When commercial vehicles are involved, the expectations for safe operation are even higher. That’s why every detail matters in the investigation: not just to determine accountability, but to understand how a chain of small decisions led to a deadly outcome.