Second Driver In Baltimore I-695 Crash That Killed 6 Arrested: Police

WOODLAWN, MD — The second driver indicted for her role in a March crash on the Baltimore Beltway that killed six highway workers has been arrested, according to Maryland State Police.

Lisa Adrienne Lea, 54, of Randallstown, was taken into custody Wednesday, police said in a news release. On Tuesday, Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger indicted her on 28 counts, including a charge claiming she was driving while under the influence of drugs.

Lea's indictment did not state which drug may have been in her system.

Another driver — Melachi Brown, 20, of Baltimore — was arrested by Maryland State Police on Monday. Brown faces 28 charges, including six counts of felony negligent manslaughter by vehicle and six counts of death of a vulnerable person, according to police.

On March 22, Lea was driving a 2017 Acura on the I-695 inner loop near Interstate 70 when she attempted to change lanes, according to police. As she did, police said her vehicle hit the front corner panel of a Volkswagen driven by Brown. The impact caused Lea to lose control of the car before crashing into the work zone, police said.

According to a preliminary report by the National Transportation Safety Board, the Acura passed through an opening in the concrete barriers separating the work zone from the highway travel lanes. As the car traveled through the work zone, it struck miscellaneous construction materials and the workers, overturning before it came to a stop.

Emergency personnel pronounced six workers dead on the scene, police said.

Those killed in the crash were:

• 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.
• Sybil Lee Dimaggio, 46, of Glen Burnie.

Lea was taken to the University of Maryland Medical Center’s Shock Trauma Center for treatment, according to authorities. Police said Brown stopped his car north of the scene on I-695, where it became disabled. He was not injured.

The NTSB said speed likely contributed to the crash. The posted speed limit in the work area was 55 mph, the report said.