Holiday weekends come with stories of parades, fireworks and family get-togethers. They also come with news of traffic fatalities. Holiday traffic often leads to an increased number of motor vehicle accidents and deaths on Maryland highways. The recent holiday weekend proved no exception.

A wrong-way accident on the inner loop of the beltway resulted in the death of a young woman. She was driving north on the beltway when her vehicle was struck by a Ford F150 driving south on the northbound side of the divided highway. It is not known how the vehicle came to be driving in the wrong direction.

The collision was head-on, and the driver of the vehicle struck by the F150 — the young woman — was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the truck was transported to a shock trauma unit of an area hospital. His condition is not known. It is also not known if alcohol had contributed to the cause of the accident.

The off-ramps from divided highways in Maryland typically bear caution signs to prevent drivers from mistakenly entering the wrong side of the highway. In spite of this, a number of wrong-way motor vehicle accidents still occur and are sometimes fatal. Losing a loved one in such a horrific accident is a horrible pain to bear, and nothing can bring the loved one back. A consultation with a personal injury attorney can help the client to determine if a civil lawsuit against the party deemed responsible is a viable option. A successfully litigated claim can provide compensation for final costs and other verifiable losses.