NTSB: Driver in deadly I-695 work zone crash went through gap in barriers
BALTIMORE -- In a newly released National Transportation Safety Board report, investigators say the 54-year-old driver of the car that killed six highway workers entered an opening in the concrete barriers.
The access point was meant for construction workers who needed to get in and out of the work zone.
The deadly work-zone crash happened around 12:30 p.m. on March 22 in the northbound lanes of Interstate I-695.
The work zone was a long-term closure of the left shoulder of the interstate that spanned for 19 miles, according to investigators.
Investigators say Lisa Adrienna Lea was driving her 2017 Acura TLX above the speed limit, clipped a car while changing lanes, and spun out of control, went through the barrier, and struck the workers before her car was overturned.
She managed to travel 1.8 miles through the work zone before colliding with a 2017 Volkswagen Jetta driven by 20-year-old Melachi Brown.
The collision occurred in the far left lane as Lea changed lanes. That's when her vehicle struck the Volkswagen Jetta, according to investigators.
At the time of the crash, both vehicles appeared to be traveling at speeds in excess of the posted speed limit and greater than the speed of the adjacent traffic, investigators said.
Lee was seriously injured in the crash but has since been released from the hospital.
Brown was not injured.
No charges have been filed in connection with the deadly collision.
Maryland State Police identified the six contractual workers who were killed as Rolando Ruiz, 46, of Laurel; Carlos Orlando Villatoro Escobar, 43, of Frederick; Jose Armando Escobar, 52, of Frederick; Mahlon Simmons III, 31, of Union Bridge; Mahlon Simmons II, 52, of Union Bridge; and Sybil Lee Dimaggio, 46, of Glen Burnie.
