The National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into the deadly March 2023 work zone crash in Baltimore that killed six construction workers found no issues with the contractor’s safety practices or work zone setup on the left shoulder of the I-695 Beltway.

Instead, the agency's final report concludes that the incident was the result of a collision by two vehicles traveling at excessive speeds—both over 120 miles per hour—that sent one out of control and through an opening in the temporary center median concrete barrier separating work activity from the main traffic lanes.

The accident unfolded as workers from Concrete General Inc. and KCI Technologies Inc. were performing pavement and drainage upgrades as part of a state-funded project to convert the left shoulder into a temporary peak-hour travel lane. The federal investigation determined that an Acura sedan moving at 122 mph in the far-right travel lane crossed three lanes of traffic, colliding with a Volkswagen sedan traveling at 121 mph in the left lane.   

The impact sent the Volkswagen into the temporary barrier, and caused the Acura to spin counter-clockwise and lose control as it went through the approximately 149-ft-wide barrier opening. After overturning, the Acura slid through the work zone, striking the six workers—all of whom were pronounced dead at the scene.

“Although the opening in the concrete barriers allowed the Acura to enter the work zone after losing control," the car's excessive speed “was the key factor that determined how far the vehicle traveled into the work zone as it overturned” and struck the workers, the report says. “In addition, the Acura’s loss of control was initiated by the driver's unsafe high-speed lane change across three lanes and collision with the high-speed Volkswagen.” 

NTSB: Barrier System Worked 'as Designed'

NTSB also noted that “the concrete barrier system prevented the Volkswagen from intruding into the work zone during the initial portion of the collision sequence, as designed. In addition, appropriate crash-attenuating end treatments were present at the work zone access openings in the barrier system.”

Although the Acura driver, Lisa Lea, 54, claimed to have suffered a seizure before the crash, the board probe was unable to determine the potential role of a medical event in the incident. She is scheduled for trial in November on multiple charges, including six counts of manslaughter and negligent homicide. 

The driver of the Volkswagen, Melachi Brown, 20, pleaded guilty to six counts of felony auto manslaughter earlier this year, and served three months of an 18-month prison sentence before being released to home detention.

Post impact travel path for the Acura (shown as the blue vehicle) relative to the physical evidence as overlaid on an orthomosaic image of the scene.  Image: Maryland State Police; annotations by NTSB

Although the NTSB review of Concrete General’s safety practices and project oversight by the Maryland State Highway Administration met applicable federal and state standards for work zone safety, not all agree. Last year, the Maryland Dept. of Labor issued a violation to the highway agency for failing to post proper signage alerting motorists to the movement of construction vehicles around the barrier-protected left shoulder work zone. 

The highway agency did not appeal the citation, countering at the time that such signage was “optional” and that “would not have prevented the crash from occurring.” 

The day after release of the NTSB report, the family of crash victim Sybil DiMaggio, an inspector at KCI Technologies, filed a negligence lawsuit against Concrete General, the state of Maryland and the two drivers. The suit cites safety deficiencies such as the left travel lane being open to traffic; the absence of a “Shoulder Closed” sign that had been knocked over and was scheduled to be replaced; and improper positioning of a crash attenuator truck.

The other workers killed were Concrete General employees:  Rolando Ruiz, 46; Carlos Orlando Villatoro Escobar, 43; Jose Armando Escobar, 52; Mahlon Simmons III, 30; and Mahlon Simmons II, 52.

Since the fatal March 2023 crash, Maryland has implemented several changes to its highway work zone safety practices, based on recommendations from a multi-disciplinary work group led by Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, a former transportation engineer. Along with lowering speed limits around work zones and adjacent lane closures, the 2024 Maryland Road Worker Protection Act eased existing restrictions on the use of automated speed safety cameras and increased fines for violations recorded by the devices. 

The board report concluded that such automated systems could have helped drivers maintain a lower speed and prevented the impact and resulting loss of control that sent the Acura into the work zone. These and other measures implemented by the Maryland highway agency  “are likely to increase safety of highway workers,” the report added.