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Tractor-trailer crashes off Conowingo Dam, driver killed

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Tractor-trailer crashes off Conowingo Dam, driver killed

The driver of a tractor-trailer was killed very early this morning after going over a barrier on the road that goes over Conowingo Dam, according to news reports.

WJZ is reporting on its website that Route 1 was reopened in time for morning rush hour but then closed as crews repaired damaged concrete on the dam. Others are reporting the repairs are to the damaged guard rail.

And reports vary as to whether this occurred on the north side or south side of Conowingo Dam.

The Maryland State Police reported they were investigating the crash. At 1:30 am, troopers responded to the accident, which occurred southbound on Route 1 in Cecil County. “According to a preliminary investigation, the male driver of a dump trailer apparently failed to negotiate a right bend in the roadway and crashed. The vehicle struck the jersey wall, overturned and fell about 80 feet to the bottom of the dam. The driver of the commercial vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene.”

Conowingo Dam, on the Susquehanna River in Maryland, impounds water for a 572-MW hydroelectric powerhouse. The structure is a concrete gravity dam that has a maximum height of about 94 ft and a total length of 4,648 ft. Route 1 goes directly across the top of the dam.