(The Associated Press circulated the following article on May 10.)
WASHINGTON — Commuters heading home to Maryland face two extra delays this afternoon: Route 50 is closed in Cheverly in both directions and MARC trains are delayed and road crews have delayed traffic.
Prince George’s County Fire and EMS spokesman Chauncey Bowers said a truck was going westbound — carrying containers full of trash — when the driver for some reason lost control. The truck slammed into a railroad overpass and burst into flames, killing the driver.
The westbound lanes of 50, near Kenilworth Road, are full of debris from the crash, while on the eastbound lanes, the trash the truck was hauling is all over the road. Bowers said it will be several hours before Route 50 gets anywhere back to normal.
Rail commuters on the MARC Brunswick Line should expected continued delays this afternoon.
After canceling all morning service because of trees that fell on the tracks, MARC plans to run what it calls the “S” schedule this afternoon. The only trains leaving Union Station will be numbers 871, 891, 875, 879, 881 and 895.
The railroad says due to the heat, CSX — which owns the tracks — is putting speed restrictions in place. Brunswick Line trains will be delayed up to 20 minutes, while Camden Line trains could be as much as 10 minutes late.
The Penn Line — owned by Amtrak — isn’t affected.