Two drivers were killed early Saturday morning, November 7, when a Jeep travelling the wrong way on Interstate 95 in Howard County, Maryland, collided head-on with another Jeep near Elkridge, the Maryland State Police said. Both men were pronounced dead at the scene, and the northbound lanes of one of the busiest highways on the US East Coast were closed for about six hours while investigators worked.
Source: Maryland State Police via Maryland Feed
The driver of a 2025 Jeep Gladiator, identified by State Police as Taleb Ait Zakariae, 37, of Rosedale, Maryland, was pronounced deceased at the scene by emergency medical services personnel. The driver of a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee, identified as Timothy Summerville Jr., 47, of Baltimore, was also pronounced deceased at the scene. Police said there were no passengers in either vehicle.
What happened on I-95 at mile marker 44
Shortly before 4:30 a.m., troopers from the Maryland State Police Waterloo Barrack responded to northbound I-95 at the 44-mile marker in Elkridge for a report of a two-vehicle crash. The preliminary investigation indicates that the Jeep Gladiator was travelling southbound in lane one of the northbound lanes — in other words, against the flow of traffic — when it met the northbound Jeep Grand Cherokee travelling in the same lane, according to the State Police release reproduced by Maryland Feed.
Police believe alcohol and speed may have contributed to the crash. That assessment is preliminary: the State Police have not confirmed a cause, and investigators have not said how the Gladiator came to be travelling in the wrong direction, where it entered the interstate, or how long it had been going the wrong way before the collision. The Baltimore Banner, reporting the same State Police release, said the two vehicles collided around the 44-mile marker near Elkridge, southwest of Baltimore.
Source: The Baltimore Banner
All lanes of northbound I-95 and lane one of southbound I-95 were closed for the investigation, the State Police said. Personnel from the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration were on the scene to assist with the road closures. The Banner reported that the northbound lanes reopened at around 10:30 a.m., citing the Maryland Department of Transportation.
Why this stretch of highway matters
Interstate 95 is the principal north–south highway of the US East Coast, running from Florida to Maine and carrying heavy car and freight traffic through the Baltimore–Washington corridor. The Elkridge section, just north of the MD 100 interchange in Howard County, is a commuter and trucking artery: long-haul trucks moving between the Port of Baltimore, Washington-area distribution centres and the Northeast use this stretch around the clock, including through the early-morning hours when Saturday's crash happened.
For Punjabi and South Asian truck drivers — a large share of the long-haul workforce on East Coast corridors — overnight wrong-way crashes are a recognised hazard: a single vehicle entering an interstate from a wrong ramp can meet closing traffic at combined speeds that leave almost no reaction time. Saturday's collision is a reminder of why highway agencies stress reporting any wrong-way vehicle to 911 immediately rather than trying to signal it from another moving vehicle.
The Maryland State Police Crash Team continues to lead what police describe as an active and ongoing investigation. Investigators are expected to establish how and where the Gladiator entered the northbound lanes the wrong way, and whether alcohol or speed was a factor, as police preliminarily suspect. No charges are possible against either driver, both of whom died at the scene; the findings will instead go into the Crash Team's final report. Anyone who witnessed the crash or saw a vehicle travelling the wrong way on I-95 early Saturday is typically asked to contact the Waterloo Barrack.
The State Police have released no further findings as of Saturday afternoon, and the investigation continues. Awaaz Punjab will update this story if the Crash Team publishes its conclusions or identifies any additional vehicles involved.