Safety
Driver Pleads Guilty in Crash That Killed Six Construction Workers
A 2017 Acura TLX was totaled after crashing into a highway work zone in Baltimore on March 22, 2023, killing six construction workers.
Photo courtesy of the National Transportation Safety Board
Melachi Brown, one of the two drivers involved in a high-speed crash that killed six construction workers on Interstate 695 in Baltimore last March pleaded guilty Jan. 3 to six counts of manslaughter in a state court in Towson, Md., records show.
Maryland State Police say Brown, 20, was driving a Volkswagen in the left lane March 22 when the other driver, Lisa Lea, 55, struck his car with hers while changing lanes. The collision caused Lea to lose control, and her car traveled through an opening between concrete barriers in a center median active work zone, where it hit the workers. Police say both drivers were speeding at more than 100 mph and Lea was under the influence.
Five of the victims—Rolando Ruiz, Carlos Orlando Villatoro Escobar, Jose Armando Escobar, Mahlon Simmons III and Mahlon Simmons II—were employed by Gaithersburg, Md.-based Concrete General Inc., the contractor said in a statement. Sybil Lee Dimaggio, worked for Sparks, Md.-based KCI Technologies Inc. Baltimore County Fire Dept. personnel pronounced all six dead at the scene.
The National Transportation Safety Board released preliminary findings into the crash last April, but its investigation is still ongoing. The Maryland Dept. of Labor released a report stating that the State Highway Administration lacked proper signage to alert drivers about the movement of construction vehicles around the work zone barrier.
The victims were working on the I-695 congestion management project, which involves converting portions of the shoulder into rush hour travel lanes and other improvements designed to improve traffic flow. Work is scheduled for completion in 2026.
The state formed a Work Zone Safety Group after the crash to make highways safer for workers. Last month, state officials lowered the work zone speed limit in the area from 55 mph to 45 mph at any time highway workers are present.
A hearing in Brown’s case is scheduled for March 28. An attorney representing him did not immediately respond to inquiries.
Lea is facing 28 charges ranging from traffic violations to felony manslaughter. A trial is scheduled to start April 1.
