The National Transportation Safety Board concluded in a report released this week that two drivers speeding — and one of them changing lanes in an unsafe manner — ultimately caused a crash on the Baltimore Beltway that killed six highway workers last year.
The final report, while not revealing much more about the March 22, 2023, crash, comes as one of the motorists prepares for trial on criminal manslaughter charges. It was publicly released just days after a civil lawsuit was filed against Maryland officials and the construction company they hired, alleging unsafe conditions at the Woodlawn work zone deserved some blame for the crash.
Mike Belsky, an attorney representing the estate of a slain construction inspector in the civil case, said Thursday that the final report “supports the fundamental notion that the only reason” an errant SUV was able to enter the work zone and kill six people that day was a 50-yard opening in concrete barriers meant to protect them.
The federal board’s final report says that while the vehicle had passed through the large gap in the concrete barriers, the “key factor” that decided how far the Acura went into the work zone was the unsafe speed of the vehicle operated by Lisa Lea, now 56. The Acura’s loss of control “was initiated by the driver’s unsafe high-speed lane change across three lanes” and collision with a Volkswagen operated by Melachi Brown.