SALISBURY — A Salisbury woman perished and her 14-month-old infant was clinging to life after a head-on collision on Route 50 just west of the Bay Bridge on Wednesday afternoon.
Maryland State Police (MSP) are continuing to investigate a crash on westbound Route 50 near Route 2 in Annapolis that claimed the life of a local woman and injured two others including a 14-month-old child. The deceased victim has been identified as Laura Ashley Murphy, 22, of Salisbury, who was pronounced deceased on the scene. Murphy was driving a 2017 Volkswagen Tiguan at the time of the collision.
The other passenger in Murphy’s vehicle was 14-month-old infant. The child was flown by MSP medevac helicopter to Johns Hopkins where he was undergoing treatment for injuries sustained in the crash late Wednesday evening. The driver of the vehicle that was struck head-on had not been identified as of late Wednesday pending the notification of next of kin. EMS personnel extricated that victim from his vehicle and transported him via a second MSP medevac helicopter to Shock Trauma in Baltimore. The third vehicle involved in the crash was driven by Anthony Stanley, 59, of Bowie. Stanley was uninjured in the collision.
Shortly before 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, MSP troopers from the Annapolis barrack responded to multiple calls reporting a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction on Route 50. As troopers were headed to the area, additional calls were received reporting the crash. As MSP troopers arrived on the scene, they found fire and rescue personnel attending to the victim, who was pronounced deceased on the scene.
As of late Wednesday, MSP troopers were still on the scene, conducting an investigation and obtaining additional information. The preliminary information indicates Murphy was driving westbound in the eastbound lanes of Route 50 roughly a quarter of a mile east of the Severn River Bridge when the crash occurred. According to police reports, it is unknown where Murphy initially entered Route 50 or why she was traveling in the wrong lanes.
Murphy’s vehicle collided with the Mercedes SUV driven by the unnamed victim and the SUV came to rest on the side of the highway in a wooded area with the driver trapped inside. EMS providers requested a GO-TEAM response and shortly after 4 p.m. the driver was extricated and transported by helicopter to the R. Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center.
