On Friday, February 16, 2001, at approximately 5:22 a.m., a 1989 Chevy Pick-up truck loaded with automotive parts was travelling southbound on Interstate 295 near Polk Street, NE when its load fell from the truck bed. The driver slowed down his pick-up truck was rear ended by a tractor-trailer.

The driver of the Chevy pick-up truck was transported by emergency medical personnel to Prince George's County Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 6:17 a.m. He has been identified as 56-year-old James West Nolan of Hyattsville, Maryland. The operator of the tractor-trailer was not injured.

The accident is currently under investigation by members of the Metropolitan Police Department's Major Crash Investigations Unit.