A wrong-way driver traveling against traffic on Interstate 95 caused a deadly collision that claimed two lives early Saturday morning in Howard County, Maryland, according to state police. The crash killed Taleb Ait Zakariae, 37, of Rosedale, and Timothy Summerville Jr., 47, of Baltimore. Both drivers were pronounced dead at the scene.
The collision happened shortly before 4:30 a.m. on November 7, near mile marker 44 in Elkridge. Police said a 2025 Jeep Gladiator was traveling southbound in the northbound lanes when it crossed paths with a 2015 Jeep Grand Cherokee heading northbound.
Ait Zakariae was driving the Jeep Gladiator, according to investigators. He was traveling in the left lane of northbound I-95 but moving in the opposite direction of traffic. Summerville was approaching in the same lane, driving northbound in his Jeep Grand Cherokee.
The two vehicles collided head-on, leaving both drivers fatally injured. First responders arrived after the crash, but there was nothing they could do to save either man. Police confirmed that no passengers were inside either vehicle.
Investigators are now looking into what may have led to the wrong-way driving and the fatal impact. Maryland State Police said alcohol and speed may have contributed to the crash. However, authorities have not identified either factor as a confirmed cause or disclosed which driver may have been affected.
The collision also caused major traffic disruptions during the early Saturday morning hours. Police shut down all northbound lanes of Interstate 95 and the left lane of southbound I-95 while emergency crews secured the scene and investigators examined the wreckage.
Officers from the Howard County Police Department assisted state troopers during the response. The Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration also helped with traffic control and road closures. The affected lanes were reopened at around 10:30 a.m., several hours after the crash.
For the families of the two men, the investigation cannot change the outcome of that morning. Taleb Ait Zakariae and Timothy Summerville Jr. both lost their lives in a collision that unfolded in the early hours of a Saturday, leaving their loved ones with a loss they never expected.
The Maryland State Police Crash Team is continuing to investigate the circumstances surrounding the collision. Authorities have not released a final account of what led to the crash, and the possible roles of alcohol and speed remain under investigation.
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