A major accident Saturday morning on the Bay Bridge shut down the westbound bridge span, shutting it down for several hours.
The Anne Arundel County Fire Department and the Kent Island Volunteer Fire Department responded to the crash, which took place in heavy fog conditions Saturday morning just before 8 a.m.
Calls came in for a pileup involving multiple vehicles. The Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) believe that 23 vehicles were involved in a chain-reaction crash and then about 20 additional vehicles were involved in a series of secondary crashes.
The Anne Arundel County Fire Department says two people suffered serious injuries and were taken to Shock Trauma in Baltimore by ground. MDTA investigators say 11 more patients were also taken to hospitals, but none of there injuries is believed to be life-threatening.
The westbound span reopened just before 2 p.m. Saturday.
Anne Arundel County Fire Department spokesman Lt. Ian McGreevy says there are concerns that fuel leaked from a tractor trailer into the Chesapeake Bay below. The U.S. Coast Guard, Maryland Department of the Environment and Anne Arundel County hazmat crews are working to mitigate the possible impact.
The fire department says drivers and passengers who became stranded on the Bay Bridge are being transported off the bridge in large vans.
The cause of the crashes is still under investigation. Anyone who witnessed the crashes is asked to contact the Maryland Transportation Authority Police at 443-454-8703.
Chesapeake Bay Magazine will continue to follow this situation as it continues.
