Two people in Maryland are being charged with manslaughter and negligent murder after they crashed into each other in a highway construction zone in March and killed six road workers.
Lisa Adrienne Lea, 54, of Randallstown, and Melachi Duane Darnell Brown, 20, of Baltimore, were charged with the deaths of the highway workers on Monday, according to the Maryland State Police.
Both suspects were charged with six counts each of manslaughter, negligent homicide, and causing the death of a vulnerable person while driving a motor vehicle, as well as single counts of unsafe lane change, speeding, failing to control speed to avoid a collision, following a vehicle too closely, negligent driving, and aggressive driving.
Lea was also charged with DUI, or driving while drunk.
The tweet below from MD State Police confirms the arrest:
.@mdsp have arrested 2 people who were indicted Monday on charges associated with the deaths of 6 highway construction workers following a fatal pedestrian crash that occurred on March 22, 2023 on Interstate 695 in Baltimore County. FULL RELEASE: https://t.co/lFbeU6ijT5 pic.twitter.com/x3vrXFH2wm
— MD State Police (@MDSP) June 7, 2023
A preliminary police investigation shows that Lea was driving a 2017 Acura TLX when she tried to change lanes on March 22, around 12:40 p.m.
Police say that when she changed lines, her car may have hit the front corner panel of a Volkswagen Passat driven by Brown.
Lea’s car lost control after the crash, drove through a barrier into the work zone, and flipped over on the left shoulder where construction workers were doing their jobs.
When rescue workers got to the scene, they said that six of the workers were dead.
Police found the bodies of 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.
When the crash team’s study of the accident was done, state police said, the results were given to the Baltimore County State’s Attorney’s Office, which decided what charges to bring against Brown and Lea.
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Brown was caught on Monday, and after he went to court, he was allowed to stay at home.
Lea turned herself in at the Maryland State Police Golden Ring Barrack on Wednesday morning, where she was taken care of.
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