MSP Investigating Fatal Fuel Truck Crash In Frederick Co.

(FREDERICK, MD) – Maryland State Police are investigating a diesel fuel truck crash that killed one person Tuesday in Frederick County.

At about 3 p.m. troopers from the Maryland State Police Frederick Barrack responded to a report of a single-vehicle crash on westbound I-70 near Exit 68 in Mount Airy. According to a preliminary investigation, a vehicle was hauling diesel fuel when for unknown reasons traveled off the left side of the roadway and into the median, overturning before catching fire.

The driver of the fuel truck, tentatively identified as William J. Costigan, 57, of Damascus, Maryland, was declared deceased at the scene. His body was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner for positive identification confirmation. All lanes of I-70 were closed for hours due to the truck fire. There were no other injuries reported.

The lanes of I-70 were reopened to traffic around 9 p.m. The Frederick County Sheriff’s Office, the State Highway Administration, and Maryland Department of Transportation assisted with the lane closures and detours for drivers.

The Frederick County Fire Department, The Maryland Department of the Environment, and the MSP Crash team responded to the scene.  The Maryland Office of the State Fire Marshal, the Maryland State Police Forensic Sciences Division crime scene technicians, and the Maryland State Police Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Division also responded to the crash scene.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

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CONTACT: Office of Media Communications, msp.media@maryland.gov