Driver In Wilson Bridge Crash Had Previous Fatal Crash On Record

A New Jersey man has been identified as the truck driver that died in the fiery crash on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge on Wednesday, June 20. Records indicate he had been involved in a construction zone crash previously.

Rodell Jones, of Bordentown, N.J. had been driving a JB Hunt Transport tractor trailer with an empty box trailer when he crashed into construction trucks on the bridge in the Outer Loop of the Capital Beltway (northbound) around 11 a.m. June 20.

Records indicate in 1992, Jones had been arrested after a crash in a construction zone on the New Jersey Turnpike, WTOP reported. Jones was later acquitted, and a prosecutor said Jones had an epileptic seizure.

Jones was pronounced dead on the scene of the June 20 crash, according to Maryland State Police. Several others were injured. (For more information on this and other neighborhood stories, subscribe to Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)

A bridge maintenance crew was examining the bridge when the crash happened. The tractor trailer hit a boom truck carrying three construction workers on a crane beneath the bridge was hit, leaving the workers stranded under the bridge. The three workers were lowered down from the crane into a police boat and taken to the hospital. They are expected to be ok, police say.

Police continue to investigate why the tractor trailer collided with the construction vehicles. Preliminary investigations show the tractor trailer lost control for an unknown reason and struck the crash attenuator truck, pushing it into the boom truck. The tractor trailer, boom truck and a worker’s vehicle caught fire. According to WTOP, the construction site on the left shoulder of the Outer Loop was clearly marked.

The crash caused multiple trucks to catch fire, resulting in billowing smoke, closure of the Outer Loop thru lanes and heavier traffic throughout the region for much of the day.

SEE ALSO:

• Multiple Vehicles Catch Fire, 1 Dead On Woodrow Wilson Bridge
• Video Captures Dramatic Rescue Of Workers On Wilson Bridge

Image via Maryland Department of Transportation