Fatal Beltway Crash Near Kenilworth Ave Kills Ejected Driver, Closes Lanes

A driver was ejected from their vehicle and pronounced dead on the Capital Beltway's Inner Loop near the Kenilworth Avenue interchange during the heart of the Wednesday morning commute on March 18, leaving all lanes of one of the region's busiest corridors shut down and traffic knotted for miles across Prince George's County.

The crash happened on the Beltway Inner Loop at Interstate 95 just before 9:15 a.m., according to a Prince George's County Fire and EMS social media post. First responders arrived to find that multiple vehicles had collided near the I-95 northbound ramp, with one person ejected and pronounced dead at the scene. Maryland State Police later said the driver was the only occupant in the vehicle at the time of the crash, and initially fire officials had described the incident as a multivehicle crash before state police clarified that only one vehicle was involved. The question of whether an ejection occurred remains part of the ongoing investigation.

Emergency crews shut down lanes on the Inner Loop as they responded, while the ramp to I-95 northbound remained blocked during the investigation. The Metropolitan Area Transportation Operations Coordination program, known as MATOC, reported that all travel lanes along I-95/495 northbound before MD-5 Exit 7 were closed. The crash created major delays across the region, with traffic backing up for miles and stretching toward MD-97 as the closure continued. Traffic cameras captured a line of stopped vehicles stretching back to the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Bridge. Drivers were diverted to MD-414 at Exit 4 during the closure, with MATOC warning that "an extended closure is expected" and urging commuters to avoid the area and seek alternate routes.

All lanes of the Beltway were temporarily shut down for the investigation and emergency response, but police confirmed the interstate has reopened. Lanes were back open by approximately 10:45 a.m., roughly an hour and a half after the crash was first reported.

Prince George's County Fire and EMS units responded to the scene, as well as first responders with Montgomery County's Fire and Rescue Service. Maryland State Police are investigating what led to the crash and the ejection. MDOT SHA monitored traffic impacts and posted updates on social media as the closure unfolded.

Maryland State Police said the driver was the only person inside of the vehicle when it crashed. As of Wednesday morning, police had not released the driver's name or age, and no charges had been announced. The investigation remained ongoing.