One of two drivers involved in the deadly 2023 Baltimore work zone crash has pleaded guilty to six counts of manslaughter, closing another chapter in an incident that brought national attention to growing hazards faced by highway construction workers.
Lisa Lea was charged with driving in excess of 120 mph along I-695 on March 22, 2023, when she made an unsafe lane change and collided with another driver, who was also speeding. According to the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation, the collision sent Lea’s vehicle spinning through an access opening in the concrete barriers separating the travel lanes from a left-shoulder construction work zone. The vehicle overturned and struck six workers before coming to a stop. The five employees of contractor Concrete General Inc., and an inspector at KCI Technologies Inc.—died as a result of their injuries.
Lea told investigators that she had suffered a seizure immediately prior to the crash. Although she had a history of seizures and was found to have delta-9 THC and other medications in her blood at the time of the incident, the NTSB investigation found no evidence of a sudden medical event.
Lea’s trial was scheduled and postponed twice before she appeared in Baltimore County Circuit Court Nov. 4 to accept the plea deal. She faced 28 charges that could have resulted in 60 years of jail time if found guilty, but Lea pleaded guilty to six counts of negligent vehicular manslaughter. In return, prosecutors have recommended a sentence of 24 years in prison, followed by three years of probation and 40 hours of community service. Sentencing is to take place Jan. 30, 2026. Under Maryland law, Lea will be eligible for parole after serving one-fourth of her sentence, which includes the 30 months she has already spent in home detention.
The other driver in the incident, Melachi Brown, pleaded guilty in early 2024 to six counts of felony automobile manslaughter and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. He was released after three months to serve the remainder his sentence in home detention.
Within months of crash, Maryland formed a 27-member work group tasked with examining ways to improve work zone safety for workers and motorists. Led by Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller, a former transportation engineer, the group issued 15 operational and regulatory recommendations, including the 2024 Maryland Road Worker Protection Act, which expands the use of speed cameras in work zones and raises the penalty for traffic violations in those areas.
Those steps have not satisfied the family of Sybil DiMaggio, the KCI inspector. Shortly after the NTSB’s final report in October 2024 concluded that the incident was the result of excessive speed rather than Concrete General’s work zone set-up, DiMaggio’s family filed suit against the company and the Maryland State Highway Administration, alleging that the safety measures were insufficient to safeguard workers against known risks.
The suit, which has yet to go to trial, cites alleged deficiencies such as having the immediately adjacent left travel lane open to traffic, no reduced speed limit while work was underway, an out-of-position alert sign and an incorrectly positioned crash attenuator truck.
The full text of the NTSB’s final report is available here.
