Bethesda man dies after car strikes tractor on Interstate 370

Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2007

Bethesda man dies after car strikes tractor on Interstate 370

— Meghan Tierney |

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The Bethesda man whose car careened off of Interstate 370, struck a parked tractor and burst into flames on Friday was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to Montgomery County Fire and Rescue Services officials.

Loren Yugn Hua Chen, 40, was driving west on I-370 in a BMW sedan when his car ran off the road around 1:30 p.m., said Cpl. Jimmy Robinson, a Montgomery County Police spokesman.

The car struck a grass-cutting tractor, which was unoccupied and parked in the shoulder, and caught fire, according to John McDonough, a spokesman for Maryland State Police.

Grass and brush also caught fire, and both the car and the tractor were completely burned and crushed, according to fire officials.

Chen was pulled from his car by a passerby and taken to the trauma center at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital in Rockville as a priority one patient, according to Capt. Oscar Garcia, a fire rescue spokesman.

He was pronounced dead upon arrival, according to Lt. Todd May of state police

Two passersby were performing CPR on Chen, who had significant head injuries and burns, when fire rescue crews responded, Garcia said.

It was unclear whether Chen had had a medical emergency while driving, he said.

No one else was injured, McDonough said.

The cause of death is still under investigation, Robinson said.