A driver died Friday night after his SUV veered off Ilchester Road in Ellicott City and slammed into a tree, according to Howard County police. The crash happened at approximately 9:48 p.m. on a stretch of the road between Jeans Way and Bonnie Branch Road, and the driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
The vehicle involved was a 2013 Nissan Juke that had been traveling northbound when it left the roadway for reasons that remain unknown, according to fox5dc.com. The outlet reported that the man was pronounced dead at the scene after the SUV struck the tree. As of Saturday, officials had not released the driver's name.
According to DC News Now, the man was the only person inside the SUV at the time of the crash. That outlet also reported the collision occurred just before 10 p.m., a slight variance from the more precise 9:48 p.m. timestamp cited elsewhere.
Road Closed for Hours as Crews Investigated
Authorities shut down Ilchester Road in the area of the collision for roughly two and a half hours while officers worked the scene, per the fox5dc.com report. The closure affected the stretch of roadway running between Jeans Way and Bonnie Branch Road, a residential corridor in Ellicott City.
The Howard County Police Department's investigation into what led up to the crash remains ongoing, the same report notes. No further details about the cause of the crash, including whether road conditions, mechanical issues, or other factors played a role, have been made public.
