The driver of a tractor-trailer died in a crash on I-70 in Frederick, according to Maryland State Police.
Troopers responded to the fatal crash on westbound I-70 at Mount Tabor Road just after 3 a.m. Troopers arrived to find the tractor-trailer and the surrounding woods on fire.
From the sky, you could see where the tractor-trailer left the westbound lanes of I-70 just outside of Myersville and ended up in a wooded area.
"When they arrived, they saw a tractor-trailer off to the side of the road along with some nearby woods on fire,” said Ron Snyder of the Maryland State Police. “When the fire was extinguished, those on the scene found the victim---the only occupant in the vehicle deceased."
From the ground, you could see the magnitude of the damage to the 18-wheeler and signs of the fire, which took the life of 51-year-old Lionel Lee Moser, Sr.
State Police are retracing the victim's route overnight leading up to the discovery of the burning rig at three o'clock in the morning.
"Prior to the accident, he had gone from Hagerstown to Baltimore and was heading back westbound when the accident occurred," said Snyder. "There was a span of about three hours between the time he left Baltimore and the accident was reported. So we don't know what happened between those three hours or so."
Whether the driver suffered some sort of medical emergency, fell asleep at the wheel or left the road of his own accord, because of another vehicle or a deer in his path, we may never know.
But Moser had traveled approximately 150 miles overnight and was just a dozen miles from his home west of Camp David when the tractor-trailer ran off the highway.
We're told his family also surveyed the crash site this morning.
"They were upset and that's one of the hardest things we deal with," said Dave Schmidt, a tow truck operator at the scene.
They were searching for answers to his death, which for now, are difficult to come by.
Anyone who drove by that area along westbound I-70 and saw the crash or the rig burning are asked to call the Maryland State Police Frederick Barrack at 301-600-4150.
