Multiple people injured in Bay Bridge crash, eyewitness shares experience

MARYLAND. – It’s a commute that Tammy Payne takes every week. But this time, the unexpected happened.

“As soon as we hit the bridge, it was a wall of fog, and we heard the cars hitting each other,” Payne said.

Dozens of cars slammed into each other on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. On her way to BWI Airport, Payne was caught in the chaos,
witnessing one man’s arm, severed.

“He was smoking a cigarette out the window and when he was hit, he was pushed into the guard rail,” Payne said. “There are no shoulders on the Chesapeake Bridge, so his arm was trapped between the guard rail and the vehicle.”

“He did lose an arm, but he was one of the first to be taken off and taken to medical,” Payne added.

Maryland Transportation Authority Police are investigating the multi-vehicle crash.

Payne recounted the event, crediting the quick thinking of one driver.

“The tractor trailer behind us saved us and saved a lot of other people,” Payne said. “Had he not been able to slide into that left lane, there was a small jeep that would’ve been sandwiched between the two tractor trailers, so that guy was a blessing, that he was there and thought quick.”

Payne said this was her first time witnessing an accident on the Bay Bridge, a situation where community came together when it mattered most.

“It was a neat experience, where no one complained, nobody was angry, everybody was helping each other,” Payne said. “The first responders were fantastic. They informed us the whole time what was going on, what they were doing.”