On September 4, 2026, a Tesla left the northbound Baltimore-Washington Parkway near Laurel, Maryland and struck a stone bridge abutment under Fort Meade Road. The driver, the only occupant, was killed. The vehicle was fully involved almost immediately.

Two police officers approached the burning car and were caught in the smoke. Both were hospitalized, one at University of Maryland Shock Trauma. By the end of the incident, around nine people had been transported, including police, at least one firefighter, and civilians who stopped to help. Anne Arundel County Fire was on scene for close to seven hours.

This video covers what makes an EV battery fire different from a typical vehicle fire, what’s actually in the smoke, why police officers and bystanders are the most exposed people on scene, and why apparatus placement matters more than it used to.