BETHESDA, Md. — Two people are dead and three others were injured following a motor vehicle crash in Bethesda on Saturday night.
Maryland State Police identified the victims as Musammat Shamima Begum, 46, and Areebah Jahin, 23, of Burke and Alexandria, Virginia. The two were mother and daughter.
According to police, troopers responded at 6:46 p.m. to the area of southbound Interstate 270 just south of Democracy Boulevard following reports of a two-vehicle crash.
Investigators determined that a Ford Mustang was traveling northbound in the southbound lanes of I-270 when it struck a Toyota Camry head-on.
Police said Begum and Jahin were passengers in the Toyota, along with an 8-year-old girl. A 62-year-old man was driving the vehicle. Both the man and the girl were taken to area hospitals for treatment.
The driver of the Ford Mustang, identified as Jose Caballero Nolasco, 32, of Germantown, Maryland, was also taken to a hospital for treatment.
Investigators believe impairment may have been a contributing factor in the crash.
Nolasco faces multiple charges, including two counts of gross negligent manslaughter, two counts of homicide by motor vehicle while impaired by alcohol, and one count of life-threatening injury by motor vehicle.
He was later released from the hospital and taken to the Montgomery County Detention Center, where he awaits an appearance before a court commissioner.
The investigation remains active.
