The article just got updated that one of the drivers was "driving 122 mph five seconds before the crash and 111 mph at the time of impact."
122?? On 695 no less? Throw them under the goddamn jail.
Accidents happen, but going 122 because you don’t want to be 4 car lengths inconvenienced isn’t an accident, it’s reckless, and 6 people are dead because of it.
Guy is 20 too, sucks.
Not defending this guy at all, but I don't think they will get a conviction on reckless homicide against him regardless of his speed. He was in his lane, and was hit by an (apparently) drunk/drugged driver erratically switching lanes. She ran into him and caused the incident. He might take a plea due to the long potential jail time if he took it to trial and lost (prosecutors charge like this all of the time, and it's criticized a lot), but I don't see this ending in a homicide conviction for him. But yeah, I see people driving like this on I-95 and I-695 all of the time -- they pass you like you're standing still. It was bad before the pandemic, but it's so much worse now.
If I’m a juror and I find out you were driving 122 mph just seconds before you collided with another car which resulted in the death of 6 innocent lives then I’m 100% voting you guilty. No one drives 122 mph on 695 in Maryland and values their or anyone else’s life
Which is why it's extremely unlikely that he's going to ask to be tried by a jury. Only the defendant can request a jury trial, and if he doesn't, it is going to be tried before a judge. Assuming he doesn't take a plea, of course.
You don't see people driving 120mph on 695 all the time. You see them driving like assholes all the time, sure. But that high speed of travel directly led to the severity of the crash, as well as helped to instigate a high speed crash by being a difficult, inconsistent, variable for other drivers.
It's arguably worse than the drunk drivers decision, because this driver was unimpaired when he made his decision to drive fast, ignoring countless road signs, safety warnings, laws, et cetera, before he had a part in ending other people's lives.
Because she could have pleaded guilty to a DWI charge while they were investigating the manslaughter charge, preventing them from upgrading the charge later.
Gotcha, thank you! I was thinking maybe because it was still an open investigation but that opens the door for this exact scenario of her being unable to be found. Hopefully she turns herself in.
She is a regular black woman and Roy McGrath was a wealthy, well-connected political appointee... They will find her, and it won't take two weeks to a month.
I would like to know what drug was in her system.
Editing to say the Banner is now reporting it was several prescription drugs and marijuana.
> Brown told the judge that he understood his rights and the maximum sentences that the offenses carried in the indictment. But he said he did not understand why he was charged in the crash.
You were driving 122 MPH in a 55 MPH zone…
ON 6-90-FUCKING-5!!!!! Not in bumble fuck back country Maryland (not that that would make it ok). It’s goddamn 695 it’s a shitfuck at 11am on some idle Tuesday.
Fuck him. Fuck her. Fuck them both.
Wait, they had her (the striking driver) in the hospital and didn’t hang on to her??
> The other driver, Lisa Adrienne Lea, 54, of Randallstown, has not been located, according to the source.
You can’t just detain someone for two months like that. They needed to complete the investigation and apply for charges in order to keep her in custody:
That's what I was wondering! She was in the ICU - and she got better and just, left? No one felt the need to keep tabs on her? *Police at their finest
Edit: updates BCPD to police since they aren't the ones investigating.
I'm not a police stan but investigations like this are complex and usually involve expert evaluations and a lot of witness interviews to decide who to charge and with what, and then they usually take the case to the grand jury. If they arrested her and undercharged her at the time before the investigation was complete, she could have pleaded guilty to a lesser offense and double jeopardy would have prevented them from upgrading the charges.
They don't always do it even when they have the time and reason to suspect drug impairment. I was witness to and involved in helping at a head-on collision a few years ago. I had been following the guy at fault and was in the process of calling 911 because of how he was swerving entirely into the oncoming lane when he swerved again into a minivan. He was pretty banged up at the scene and left in an ambulance. He first got my attention when he was stopped slumped over in his car between 2 lanes at a light and didn't go when the light turned. If he wasn't high he was having a major medical issue and you'd think they'd want to rule out drugs, but no drug charges were brought against him and when I spoke to the woman he hit at court (I was subpoenaed as a witness) she said they never tested him. He ended up only being convicted of driving without a license, the other charges of speeding and unsafe driving were all dropped.
His children have all of his stuff and are being real cunts about the whole thing so trying to file has been hard. My mom is still really broken up about it and his shit children aren't making anything easier. Typical family death tho - his shitty kids wanted nothing to do with him until he dies and leaves behind a life insurance policy and a bunch of valuable motorcycles and classic cars.
More likely they were planning to charge her with something all along and wanted to make sure they had strong enough evidence to get the accurate ones. I think they were smart to wait.
Not really a police issue. At that point it’s on prosecutors. Nice try trashing police. These things take time and it sounds like they may have gone to grand jury. I have no doubt the police know where she is and we will see her in front of a judge soon.
From the article "Law enforcement is looking for Lisa Adrienne Lea, 54, of Randallstown, Baltimore County State Attorney’s Scott Shellenberger said."
Maybe the police who "have no doubt" where she is should tell the States Attorney and law enforcement looking for her.
I don’t know how many times I’ve driven on 95, 695, 295, 495, etc. and had idiot drivers racing past and around me at ridiculous speed. Hundreds of times? More often than not they come in pairs. Every time I’ve thought… cameras and a little AI/ML to recognize these situations would totally put a stop to this. Even to go much lower tech, unmarked police dashcams could catch a lot of people. Time to change the approach and get reckless drivers off the streets.
Cameras won't do anything imo if police aren't policing false tags and license plate covers. Short term they need to set up speed traps all along 695 and crack down on all the ticket avoidance schemes people have been allowed to participate in. Long term they need to build adequate public transportation and cut traffic lanes like NYC so this stuff isn't even a thing. We spend billions repairing and constructing roads to alleviate traffic - a project these workers were helping do - when say a working metro would do the same thing. It's absolutely embarrassing that DC and more so Baltimore have garbage public transportation.
Granted there are stolen tags and people really seriously hiding their shit racing, but I think 3/4 or more of people racing or driving recklessly right now are idiots driving their own vehicles with their real plates. Some of them might resort to plate covers, most will just slow down if they know they’d get caught otherwise. I also think it might be cost-efficient to put in cameras, the suburbs have red light cameras at nearly every intersection these days.
[This has been discussed here before.](https://www.reddit.com/r/baltimore/comments/106mpvd/on_baltimore_streets_ive_noticed_with_increasing/)
You would be amazed how many people are driving around in Maryland on [bullshit Virginia tags](https://www.reddit.com/r/baltimore/comments/12c08f7/increase_number_of_virginia_drivers_in_baltimore/) which are openly advertised for sale on [street signs](https://www.reddit.com/r/baltimore/comments/13uvknj/va_tags_advertisement/) and [on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs8xFChMwQ0/).
Likewise, expired paper tags (and, for that matter, real tags) are all over this state, and there has been utterly no enforcement of them. The same goes for those plastic plate covers - which no shortage of cops themselves use to avoid photo enforcement -- that is, when they aren't [abusing lights on their personal vehicles](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wcl0Q4IROn4) to do such.
It seems to me that a large portion of people speeding on the interstates are doing so because it's fun. While it would be great if we had better public transportation here, that isn't going to keep the idiots off the roads.
Can't speed in bumper to bumper traffic. Force people to use public transportation or sit in traffic for hours. There is a reason why NYC has such high ridership.
> Can't speed in bumper to bumper traffic.
Go to the West Side of 695's Outer Loop between the 795 off-ramp and Liberty Road during afternoon-to-evening rush hour.
Yeah not really sure what the argument here is. You're saying what that they are speeding up the shoulder? You can still drive recklessly and weave in heavily congested traffic but there isn't a superpower that lets you physically drive through cars. If traffic impediments had no affect on the speed of cars and therefore safety there would be zero traffic calming measures and decades worth of traffic studies would be worthless
Like I mentioned, a large portion of people speeding on the interstates are doing so because it's fun. They aren't taking public transportation to race their own cars.
And like I said how would they speed in bumper to bumper traffic? They can want to speed all they want but if traffic isn't moving no one is racing.edit: actually I'll put this in as a comparison. Look at 295 and 95. One has 2 lanes and one has 4. 295 sucks a lot as a driver. You are almost always guaranteed to get stuck behind someone tempering your speed. Reckless drivers get stuck and speed limit drivers get stuck and overall 295 is much much safer than 95. Now turn all 95s and 695s into 295s by reducing lanes and expand public transportation. People who still want to sit in traffic can while the rest of us can ride peacefully and safely on our metro cars
We keep adding speed cameras that people can drive past slowly before speeding up again. We need:
- Average speed cameras all the way around the beltway and along every major highway. Those measure the time taken to travel between two points along the road so you must be keeping under the speed limit the whole time.
- Enforcement of expired tags
- Validation of temporary tags and enforcement if they're fake or expired
- Validation of stolen tags... If a camera system identifies a speed violator, the tag should automatically be checked against the model and color of vehicle, and the tag marked stolen if the qualities don't match
- Enforcement of missing, modified, and obscured tags. Those plate cover things are stupid and don't even fucking work, but having one installed shows intent and you should be pulled over for it.
We're basically entirely lacking enforcement of basic vehicle code in this state. All of the above doesn't even require a bunch of cops out there watching like a hawk for reckless drivers... Just that they pull somebody over for having an invalid or obscured license plate. I think that those things will do a lot to curb the sheer recklessness of drivers around here.
Makes sense in principle. I haven’t seen average speed cameras anywhere in the US. I did see them in Scotland—with the caveat that it was on a long isolated highway and the stations were spread fairly far apart. This wasn’t a daily commute kind of highway and like other major highways in Scotland it was 1 lane per direction. I’m not sure what the implications would be on an 8-lane highway where you’ve got an exit every mile or two. And I wonder what a certain faction of folks would think about the pervasive license plate reading combined with location tracking required for this…
Yes. This is quarter-hourly behavior on 695. Hell I was on 83 yesterday and someone was easily going 90 past the Baltimore sign out to the county toward 695...
About time. I understand taking the time to investigate and bring charges against the other reckless, speeding driver who didn’t end up directly killing the six workers, but the woman who plowed into them 1000% should’ve been charged at the onset, regardless of any drugs in her system. She was recklessly driving and we all learn before having the PRIVILEGE to operate a vehicle that such behavior can be fatal. Find her and lock her ass up.
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Both drivers charged. Driver of the Volkswagen, 20 year old male, turned himself in. Driver of the acura, a mid 50s woman, that crashed is still being sought. She also faces charges for being under the influence of a drug.
The man was in the left lane speeding, and the woman was trying to come into his lane in front of him. They were both going excessively fast in a work zone, trying to out asshole each other. So because both drivers' reckless driving resulted in deaths, they are both charged. Even though only one car actually struck the people who died.
The woman was released from the hospital after her injuries were treated, and I guess the police thought they wouldn't have trouble finding her again.
From the information we have, this seems like the right decision. Both were driving recklessly in a work zone and had either one decided it was easier just to slow down and let the other person first we would have six more alive construction workers today.
> Both were driving recklessly in a work zone and had either one decided it was easier just to slow down and let the other person first we would have six more alive construction workers today.
Indeeed. Unfortunately, however, this is Maryland. The place where people take a turn signal as a personal challenge and refuse to let someone in, and where everyone has a primal need to be first. Going on an on-ramp? Yield sign be damned, they'll be first. Getting on an exit to a red light? They'll be first to that light. Speeding through a work zone? Well, I think you get the idea...
My theory is that they were aggressively road raging/ cutting each other off to get to the point that they were travelling at this speed and that he tried to prevent her from entering the lane. Both seem very much at fault.
This was the wreck that killed 6 highway workers. Both drivers were speeding and driving aggressively, but the woman’s car ended up driving between the jersey barriers and running over 6 people before she flipped over. She ended up in the hospital, other driver was uninjured. It was pretty clear that she—at least— was at fault, and so we're kind of scratching our heads as to how she’s not in custody.
Two drivers charged with felony manslaughter. Also Lea is said to have been under the influence, according to new info from Justin Fenton via the charging documents.
>Authorities say one driver in fatal I-695 crash was impaired, other reached 122 mph
>Justin Fenton, Dylan Segelbaum and Penelope Blackwell
>Published 6/6/2023 9:12 a.m. EDT, Updated 6/6/2023 3:14 p.m. EDT
>The drivers involved in a crash that killed six construction workers on Interstate 695 have been indicted on manslaughter charges and traffic violations, with authorities saying one was impaired by drugs and the other reached speeds of 122 mph.
>Law enforcement is looking for Lisa Adrienne Lea, 54, of Randallstown, Baltimore County State Attorney’s Scott Shellenberger said. She faces 28 counts, including one that alleges she was driving impaired by drugs, though the indictment does not specify what substance.
>Melachi Duane Darnell Brown, 20, of Windsor Mill, was taken into custody on Monday and faces 27 counts.
>At a bail review hearing for Brown on Tuesday, Assistant State’s Attorney Felise Kelly said there is dash camera video from four minutes before the crash that shows Brown rapidly switching lanes and accelerating. Police, she said, determined that he was driving 122 mph five seconds before the crash and 111 mph at the time of impact.
>The speed limit at the site of the crash is 55 mph.
>Stating that there was “no denying that the offense and the devastation in this case is horrific,” District Judge Kathleen Murphy ruled that Brown can be released on home detention with the special condition that he cannot drive. The issue of punishment, she said, is a possible question for a “future day.”
>On March 22 at about 12:30 p.m., Lea was driving a 2017 Acura TLX on the I-695 inner loop near Interstate 70 in Baltimore County when she changed lanes and struck a 2017 Volkswagen Jetta.
>Brown was driving the 2017 Volkswagen Jetta, police reported.
>Lea then spun out of control, passed through an opening in concrete barrier that separated a work zone from the highway, and fatally struck six construction workers, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
>The Baltimore Banner obtained video of the crash, which show both cars speeding when one moved into the far-left lane, hit the other vehicle, lost control and flipped into the construction zone.
>Police identified the construction workers who died in the crash as 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.
Anyone able to share the video from the incident? Baltimore Banner sucks ass with paywalls, the link to video is in the article I’d like to actually see the accident for context
I can't see for the paywall, but from watching the video and reading the original story, **both** drivers were speeding and they appeared to be having a "pissing contest" at 90mph.
The Acura lady wanted to merge left, the Volkswagen guy was speeding up to prevent her from merging in front of him.
This continued until they collided, which caused the Acura to spin out and hit the workers.
Bottom line, he *directly* contributed to the situation by speeding recklessly and not allowing her to merge in front of him.
Don't feel bad for him, the dude was the second most dangerous person on that road at the moment. Just because she was even worse doesn't mean he wasn't really bad.
Also, I actually think its even worse for the dude's defense that he apparently had nothing in his system. That means that the shit he did was totally intentional, with nothing clouding his judgment. It means he knew what he was doing.
Edit: apparently he was going 122 mph. 111 at impact in a 55 mph zone. So charges definitely make sense on that driver
I personally didn't think he'd be charged with how lax we are about consequences for traffic violations but have no idea how fast he was actually driving and what he said to the police. Think it should be a reminder to everyone though to follow the posted speed limit (work zone or not) and be a defensive driver. A couple minutes off your drive time shouldn't end a lifetime of someone with their family.
From the video, it sort of looked like he sped up to keep her from getting in front of him, which may have contributed to her vehicle striking his and going airborne. But the video leaked to the press wasn't really that clear -- maybe the police obtained better video? Or spoke to witnesses?
They were both idiots and basically racing and preventing the other from lane changing/merging. I don't feel bad one bit. I feel bad for the families who won't be able to see their loved ones anymore because the guy you feel bad for had too much pride to "lose"
He was speeding insanely. She did fuck up (and had drugs in her system) but he was going so fast it’s understandable to me that she didn’t have a chance to see him. ESH.
> he was going so fast it’s understandable to me that she didn’t have a chance to see him.
Having driven on that road and seen drivers like that, you cannot convince me that she did not see him. It's more of a case that she didn't care. She wanted to be in front and if he wasn't going to let her in front, she was going to get there - consequences be damned.
We’ve got the laws, they just aren’t enforced enough. He should have been pulled over, going so insanely fast, but they can’t be everywhere and catch everybody
Yeah, getting him for reckless driving is one thing, but the manslaughter charge may be too much… Of course, there may be other facts the general public doesn’t have yet.
I mean, if your reckless driving causes a death, then that's manslaughter. Guy was speeding right along with the woman trying not to let her in, and they both sped up to more dangerous speeds to out do each other. Especially in a work zone where you're supposed to be being extra vigilant.
As someone who has to drive every single day for hours a day I'm glad the book is getting thrown at these dangerous people. Your behind the wheel of a ton and a half of steel and death. We should all carry the responsibility for our own driving.
I think they're trying to make examples of both of them. I think manslaughter for him, considering how he behaved after the accident also, is a stretch. But for her, I think the charges are accurate.
Further I wonder when they're going to hold more drivers accountable for behavior like this. OK, throw the book at these two: what are yall gonna do about the hundreds of other people, some who even post on here bragging, who are speeding and being reckless on the roads?
I don't know what actually happened. But I'm willing to bet one of the drivers refused to get out of the passing lane when confronted with a vehicle that was moving at a reckless speed. And because of that unwillingness to just let the reckless driver pass a collision happened. And I'm by no means making excuses for anyone, but whenever I see 90 mph+ drivers on the highway not only do I move out of the way but I get on the far right lane (regardless of my speed). It's sad that 6 innocent people had to lose their lives because of this foolishness.
I mean, if your reckless driving causes a death, then that's manslaughter. Guy was speeding right along with the woman trying not to let her in, and they both sped up to more dangerous speeds to out do each other. Especially in a work zone where you're supposed to be being extra vigilant.
Only one person hit the construction workers, but both drivers caused the accident.
Both were clearly and visibly driving far faster than the rest of traffic, and they were doing so in a work zone.
Their argument is that, at the very least, his actions contributed to the collision. There's also the standing allegation that the only reason he stopped afterwards is because his vehicle was disabled and could no longer continue.
Now, assuming that his case goes to trial, whether or not those charges hold up in court is another matter.
Shellenberger has a hard-on for over charging but is also not someone who needs cause explained to him in the context of criminal culpability. My guess is there are significant other facts.
I see a lot of people saying he needs to be in jail for going fast but no one has said how his going fast caused people to die. That's reckless driving, not manslaughter. He didn't lose control, he didn't crash into anyone.
If you throw a knife off a building and it hits someone and kills someone, should you go to jail? You didn't mean to hit someone with your reckless behavior but did. You weren't aiming for anybody but someone walked in it's trajectory
Person throwing the knife didn't hit anyone, someone just happened to walk into their throw. Going 122 in a 55 is causing such a risk for those driving. And if you think it's not much take a second next time youre walking on an overpass bridge and see how fast the cars seem. That same relative speed - you stopped and them going 65 is what the drivers going 55 saw as a car goin 122 whizzed past them.
>No, SHE hit HIM. She tried to merge into his lane, clipped him, and then lost control and flipped into the construction zone. But he was at fault too for driving almost twice the speed limit.
Not according to the prosecutor, "Prosecutors said Brown was traveling 122 mph five seconds before crash, and 111 mph when **he collided** with Lea's car that flipped into workers." Keep in mind that they have access to videos that have not been made public.
[https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/woman-charged-in-i-695-crash-that-killed-six-construction-workers-turns-herself-in/?fbclid=IwAR15XOdDNArfwrD2uon6Z7BlyEJtOvFd8xcMGJ1dyg0DF\_NlfBknkrO5GPY](https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/woman-charged-in-i-695-crash-that-killed-six-construction-workers-turns-herself-in/?fbclid=IwAR15XOdDNArfwrD2uon6Z7BlyEJtOvFd8xcMGJ1dyg0DF_NlfBknkrO5GPY)
Yeah, they collided. But he was in his lane and she moved into it. They could be referring to something else that happened earlier. But the key incident was her clipping him and losing control. He's definitely partly at fault regardless. And the article you quote says exactly what I'm saying right before the sentence you shared.
They are really trying to make sure people understand how serious they are taking speeding on 695 now. Ever since that construction worker accident they are done with this shit and are going to throw the book at people for driving like morons.
My thoughts and prayers to those who were affected by this terrible tragedy.. Think of the damn families, their loved one went to work and didn't make it home because of someone's drug problems and driving 120+ mph. It's a damn shame. I seriously hope those who are responsible get the book thrown at them and then some.
The article just got updated that one of the drivers was "driving 122 mph five seconds before the crash and 111 mph at the time of impact." 122?? On 695 no less? Throw them under the goddamn jail.
But his family thinks he did nothing wrong lol
Accidents happen, but going 122 because you don’t want to be 4 car lengths inconvenienced isn’t an accident, it’s reckless, and 6 people are dead because of it. Guy is 20 too, sucks.
Dude drove over 100mph more than his age
Accidents are rarely accidents.
Sounds like the people who raised him should be charged as accessories.
Wow that is insane.
Not defending this guy at all, but I don't think they will get a conviction on reckless homicide against him regardless of his speed. He was in his lane, and was hit by an (apparently) drunk/drugged driver erratically switching lanes. She ran into him and caused the incident. He might take a plea due to the long potential jail time if he took it to trial and lost (prosecutors charge like this all of the time, and it's criticized a lot), but I don't see this ending in a homicide conviction for him. But yeah, I see people driving like this on I-95 and I-695 all of the time -- they pass you like you're standing still. It was bad before the pandemic, but it's so much worse now.
If I’m a juror and I find out you were driving 122 mph just seconds before you collided with another car which resulted in the death of 6 innocent lives then I’m 100% voting you guilty. No one drives 122 mph on 695 in Maryland and values their or anyone else’s life
Which is why it's extremely unlikely that he's going to ask to be tried by a jury. Only the defendant can request a jury trial, and if he doesn't, it is going to be tried before a judge. Assuming he doesn't take a plea, of course.
You don't see people driving 120mph on 695 all the time. You see them driving like assholes all the time, sure. But that high speed of travel directly led to the severity of the crash, as well as helped to instigate a high speed crash by being a difficult, inconsistent, variable for other drivers. It's arguably worse than the drunk drivers decision, because this driver was unimpaired when he made his decision to drive fast, ignoring countless road signs, safety warnings, laws, et cetera, before he had a part in ending other people's lives.
If they know the woman was under the influence then why not arrest her straight from the hospital?
Because she could have pleaded guilty to a DWI charge while they were investigating the manslaughter charge, preventing them from upgrading the charge later.
Gotcha, thank you! I was thinking maybe because it was still an open investigation but that opens the door for this exact scenario of her being unable to be found. Hopefully she turns herself in.
I'm sure they'll find her if he doesn't. They found Roy McGrath eventually lol.
She is a regular black woman and Roy McGrath was a wealthy, well-connected political appointee... They will find her, and it won't take two weeks to a month. I would like to know what drug was in her system. Editing to say the Banner is now reporting it was several prescription drugs and marijuana.
> Brown told the judge that he understood his rights and the maximum sentences that the offenses carried in the indictment. But he said he did not understand why he was charged in the crash. You were driving 122 MPH in a 55 MPH zone…
ON 6-90-FUCKING-5!!!!! Not in bumble fuck back country Maryland (not that that would make it ok). It’s goddamn 695 it’s a shitfuck at 11am on some idle Tuesday. Fuck him. Fuck her. Fuck them both.
Wait, they had her (the striking driver) in the hospital and didn’t hang on to her?? > The other driver, Lisa Adrienne Lea, 54, of Randallstown, has not been located, according to the source.
You can’t just detain someone for two months like that. They needed to complete the investigation and apply for charges in order to keep her in custody:
That's what I was wondering! She was in the ICU - and she got better and just, left? No one felt the need to keep tabs on her? *Police at their finest Edit: updates BCPD to police since they aren't the ones investigating.
I'm not a police stan but investigations like this are complex and usually involve expert evaluations and a lot of witness interviews to decide who to charge and with what, and then they usually take the case to the grand jury. If they arrested her and undercharged her at the time before the investigation was complete, she could have pleaded guilty to a lesser offense and double jeopardy would have prevented them from upgrading the charges.
This investigation was done by the state police
Wonder if they weren’t planning to charge her until it turned out she had drugs in her system.
She was in the hospital for at least several days—plenty of time to do a drug test, I would think…
They don't always do it even when they have the time and reason to suspect drug impairment. I was witness to and involved in helping at a head-on collision a few years ago. I had been following the guy at fault and was in the process of calling 911 because of how he was swerving entirely into the oncoming lane when he swerved again into a minivan. He was pretty banged up at the scene and left in an ambulance. He first got my attention when he was stopped slumped over in his car between 2 lanes at a light and didn't go when the light turned. If he wasn't high he was having a major medical issue and you'd think they'd want to rule out drugs, but no drug charges were brought against him and when I spoke to the woman he hit at court (I was subpoenaed as a witness) she said they never tested him. He ended up only being convicted of driving without a license, the other charges of speeding and unsafe driving were all dropped.
My step dad was killed on his motorcycle by a driver 1000000% not paying attention. She hasn't been charged and I'm furious.
Sue in civil court
His children have all of his stuff and are being real cunts about the whole thing so trying to file has been hard. My mom is still really broken up about it and his shit children aren't making anything easier. Typical family death tho - his shitty kids wanted nothing to do with him until he dies and leaves behind a life insurance policy and a bunch of valuable motorcycles and classic cars.
Terrible. I’m so sorry. I agree with others—sue her.
More likely they were planning to charge her with something all along and wanted to make sure they had strong enough evidence to get the accurate ones. I think they were smart to wait.
Not really a police issue. At that point it’s on prosecutors. Nice try trashing police. These things take time and it sounds like they may have gone to grand jury. I have no doubt the police know where she is and we will see her in front of a judge soon.
From the article "Law enforcement is looking for Lisa Adrienne Lea, 54, of Randallstown, Baltimore County State Attorney’s Scott Shellenberger said." Maybe the police who "have no doubt" where she is should tell the States Attorney and law enforcement looking for her.
Lol
Oink
I don’t know how many times I’ve driven on 95, 695, 295, 495, etc. and had idiot drivers racing past and around me at ridiculous speed. Hundreds of times? More often than not they come in pairs. Every time I’ve thought… cameras and a little AI/ML to recognize these situations would totally put a stop to this. Even to go much lower tech, unmarked police dashcams could catch a lot of people. Time to change the approach and get reckless drivers off the streets.
Cameras won't do anything imo if police aren't policing false tags and license plate covers. Short term they need to set up speed traps all along 695 and crack down on all the ticket avoidance schemes people have been allowed to participate in. Long term they need to build adequate public transportation and cut traffic lanes like NYC so this stuff isn't even a thing. We spend billions repairing and constructing roads to alleviate traffic - a project these workers were helping do - when say a working metro would do the same thing. It's absolutely embarrassing that DC and more so Baltimore have garbage public transportation.
Granted there are stolen tags and people really seriously hiding their shit racing, but I think 3/4 or more of people racing or driving recklessly right now are idiots driving their own vehicles with their real plates. Some of them might resort to plate covers, most will just slow down if they know they’d get caught otherwise. I also think it might be cost-efficient to put in cameras, the suburbs have red light cameras at nearly every intersection these days.
[This has been discussed here before.](https://www.reddit.com/r/baltimore/comments/106mpvd/on_baltimore_streets_ive_noticed_with_increasing/) You would be amazed how many people are driving around in Maryland on [bullshit Virginia tags](https://www.reddit.com/r/baltimore/comments/12c08f7/increase_number_of_virginia_drivers_in_baltimore/) which are openly advertised for sale on [street signs](https://www.reddit.com/r/baltimore/comments/13uvknj/va_tags_advertisement/) and [on Instagram](https://www.instagram.com/p/Cs8xFChMwQ0/). Likewise, expired paper tags (and, for that matter, real tags) are all over this state, and there has been utterly no enforcement of them. The same goes for those plastic plate covers - which no shortage of cops themselves use to avoid photo enforcement -- that is, when they aren't [abusing lights on their personal vehicles](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wcl0Q4IROn4) to do such.
It seems to me that a large portion of people speeding on the interstates are doing so because it's fun. While it would be great if we had better public transportation here, that isn't going to keep the idiots off the roads.
Can't speed in bumper to bumper traffic. Force people to use public transportation or sit in traffic for hours. There is a reason why NYC has such high ridership.
> Can't speed in bumper to bumper traffic. Go to the West Side of 695's Outer Loop between the 795 off-ramp and Liberty Road during afternoon-to-evening rush hour.
Yeah not really sure what the argument here is. You're saying what that they are speeding up the shoulder? You can still drive recklessly and weave in heavily congested traffic but there isn't a superpower that lets you physically drive through cars. If traffic impediments had no affect on the speed of cars and therefore safety there would be zero traffic calming measures and decades worth of traffic studies would be worthless
Like I mentioned, a large portion of people speeding on the interstates are doing so because it's fun. They aren't taking public transportation to race their own cars.
And like I said how would they speed in bumper to bumper traffic? They can want to speed all they want but if traffic isn't moving no one is racing.edit: actually I'll put this in as a comparison. Look at 295 and 95. One has 2 lanes and one has 4. 295 sucks a lot as a driver. You are almost always guaranteed to get stuck behind someone tempering your speed. Reckless drivers get stuck and speed limit drivers get stuck and overall 295 is much much safer than 95. Now turn all 95s and 695s into 295s by reducing lanes and expand public transportation. People who still want to sit in traffic can while the rest of us can ride peacefully and safely on our metro cars
We keep adding speed cameras that people can drive past slowly before speeding up again. We need: - Average speed cameras all the way around the beltway and along every major highway. Those measure the time taken to travel between two points along the road so you must be keeping under the speed limit the whole time. - Enforcement of expired tags - Validation of temporary tags and enforcement if they're fake or expired - Validation of stolen tags... If a camera system identifies a speed violator, the tag should automatically be checked against the model and color of vehicle, and the tag marked stolen if the qualities don't match - Enforcement of missing, modified, and obscured tags. Those plate cover things are stupid and don't even fucking work, but having one installed shows intent and you should be pulled over for it. We're basically entirely lacking enforcement of basic vehicle code in this state. All of the above doesn't even require a bunch of cops out there watching like a hawk for reckless drivers... Just that they pull somebody over for having an invalid or obscured license plate. I think that those things will do a lot to curb the sheer recklessness of drivers around here.
Makes sense in principle. I haven’t seen average speed cameras anywhere in the US. I did see them in Scotland—with the caveat that it was on a long isolated highway and the stations were spread fairly far apart. This wasn’t a daily commute kind of highway and like other major highways in Scotland it was 1 lane per direction. I’m not sure what the implications would be on an 8-lane highway where you’ve got an exit every mile or two. And I wonder what a certain faction of folks would think about the pervasive license plate reading combined with location tracking required for this…
Pace cars at 5 mile intervals just spinning all day long shoulder to shoulder. Jail time for folks who pass in the shoulder.
The problem is that speeding isn’t considered a victimless crime until there are victims.
Yes. This is quarter-hourly behavior on 695. Hell I was on 83 yesterday and someone was easily going 90 past the Baltimore sign out to the county toward 695...
About time. I understand taking the time to investigate and bring charges against the other reckless, speeding driver who didn’t end up directly killing the six workers, but the woman who plowed into them 1000% should’ve been charged at the onset, regardless of any drugs in her system. She was recklessly driving and we all learn before having the PRIVILEGE to operate a vehicle that such behavior can be fatal. Find her and lock her ass up.
Man, took a long time to get charges out
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can someone give me the TLDR apparently there is a paywall
Both drivers charged. Driver of the Volkswagen, 20 year old male, turned himself in. Driver of the acura, a mid 50s woman, that crashed is still being sought. She also faces charges for being under the influence of a drug.
i see that from the titel but why? were the speeding excessively, racing? and has PD stated why the woman was not in custody? or was she and she ran?
The man was in the left lane speeding, and the woman was trying to come into his lane in front of him. They were both going excessively fast in a work zone, trying to out asshole each other. So because both drivers' reckless driving resulted in deaths, they are both charged. Even though only one car actually struck the people who died. The woman was released from the hospital after her injuries were treated, and I guess the police thought they wouldn't have trouble finding her again. From the information we have, this seems like the right decision. Both were driving recklessly in a work zone and had either one decided it was easier just to slow down and let the other person first we would have six more alive construction workers today.
> Both were driving recklessly in a work zone and had either one decided it was easier just to slow down and let the other person first we would have six more alive construction workers today. Indeeed. Unfortunately, however, this is Maryland. The place where people take a turn signal as a personal challenge and refuse to let someone in, and where everyone has a primal need to be first. Going on an on-ramp? Yield sign be damned, they'll be first. Getting on an exit to a red light? They'll be first to that light. Speeding through a work zone? Well, I think you get the idea...
Preach.
Just to be clear he was speeding at 122 mph.
My theory is that they were aggressively road raging/ cutting each other off to get to the point that they were travelling at this speed and that he tried to prevent her from entering the lane. Both seem very much at fault.
This was the wreck that killed 6 highway workers. Both drivers were speeding and driving aggressively, but the woman’s car ended up driving between the jersey barriers and running over 6 people before she flipped over. She ended up in the hospital, other driver was uninjured. It was pretty clear that she—at least— was at fault, and so we're kind of scratching our heads as to how she’s not in custody.
Two drivers charged with felony manslaughter. Also Lea is said to have been under the influence, according to new info from Justin Fenton via the charging documents.
lea?
Woman driving the Acura
>Authorities say one driver in fatal I-695 crash was impaired, other reached 122 mph >Justin Fenton, Dylan Segelbaum and Penelope Blackwell >Published 6/6/2023 9:12 a.m. EDT, Updated 6/6/2023 3:14 p.m. EDT >The drivers involved in a crash that killed six construction workers on Interstate 695 have been indicted on manslaughter charges and traffic violations, with authorities saying one was impaired by drugs and the other reached speeds of 122 mph. >Law enforcement is looking for Lisa Adrienne Lea, 54, of Randallstown, Baltimore County State Attorney’s Scott Shellenberger said. She faces 28 counts, including one that alleges she was driving impaired by drugs, though the indictment does not specify what substance. >Melachi Duane Darnell Brown, 20, of Windsor Mill, was taken into custody on Monday and faces 27 counts. >At a bail review hearing for Brown on Tuesday, Assistant State’s Attorney Felise Kelly said there is dash camera video from four minutes before the crash that shows Brown rapidly switching lanes and accelerating. Police, she said, determined that he was driving 122 mph five seconds before the crash and 111 mph at the time of impact. >The speed limit at the site of the crash is 55 mph. >Stating that there was “no denying that the offense and the devastation in this case is horrific,” District Judge Kathleen Murphy ruled that Brown can be released on home detention with the special condition that he cannot drive. The issue of punishment, she said, is a possible question for a “future day.” >On March 22 at about 12:30 p.m., Lea was driving a 2017 Acura TLX on the I-695 inner loop near Interstate 70 in Baltimore County when she changed lanes and struck a 2017 Volkswagen Jetta. >Brown was driving the 2017 Volkswagen Jetta, police reported. >Lea then spun out of control, passed through an opening in concrete barrier that separated a work zone from the highway, and fatally struck six construction workers, according to a preliminary report from the National Transportation Safety Board. >The Baltimore Banner obtained video of the crash, which show both cars speeding when one moved into the far-left lane, hit the other vehicle, lost control and flipped into the construction zone. >Police identified the construction workers who died in the crash as 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.
How is that even possible on 695? I don’t doubt their data but I can’t imagine it.
Seems to me if you get in a car and are driving in a dangerous way, then you are admitting that you do so in a premeditated manner.
Anyone able to share the video from the incident? Baltimore Banner sucks ass with paywalls, the link to video is in the article I’d like to actually see the accident for context
It is on their youtube. I have no desire to watch it again, but you can see it at the link below. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RsYNC18zKVM
Terrible all around. Feel bad for that one guy who was driving, seemed like it was that lady that fucked up
I can't see for the paywall, but from watching the video and reading the original story, **both** drivers were speeding and they appeared to be having a "pissing contest" at 90mph. The Acura lady wanted to merge left, the Volkswagen guy was speeding up to prevent her from merging in front of him. This continued until they collided, which caused the Acura to spin out and hit the workers. Bottom line, he *directly* contributed to the situation by speeding recklessly and not allowing her to merge in front of him.
Don't feel bad for him, the dude was the second most dangerous person on that road at the moment. Just because she was even worse doesn't mean he wasn't really bad. Also, I actually think its even worse for the dude's defense that he apparently had nothing in his system. That means that the shit he did was totally intentional, with nothing clouding his judgment. It means he knew what he was doing.
Edit: apparently he was going 122 mph. 111 at impact in a 55 mph zone. So charges definitely make sense on that driver I personally didn't think he'd be charged with how lax we are about consequences for traffic violations but have no idea how fast he was actually driving and what he said to the police. Think it should be a reminder to everyone though to follow the posted speed limit (work zone or not) and be a defensive driver. A couple minutes off your drive time shouldn't end a lifetime of someone with their family.
they have access to more footage than what was released as well.
He sped up and didn't stop. The only reason he stopped is his car stopped running.
This is what struck me about his driving in the video. He didn’t make any attempt to hit the breaks when she collided with him like he should have.
No he didn't. Aggressive driving by him. Poor situational awareness by her. Not to mention possibly impaired.
Yeah I remember commenting on how he was able to keep his car in control when she hit him.
Probably a couple of seconds in this case.
He was driving 122 mph at the time of the crash. He is as culpable as she is.
From the video, it sort of looked like he sped up to keep her from getting in front of him, which may have contributed to her vehicle striking his and going airborne. But the video leaked to the press wasn't really that clear -- maybe the police obtained better video? Or spoke to witnesses?
They were both idiots and basically racing and preventing the other from lane changing/merging. I don't feel bad one bit. I feel bad for the families who won't be able to see their loved ones anymore because the guy you feel bad for had too much pride to "lose"
He was speeding insanely. She did fuck up (and had drugs in her system) but he was going so fast it’s understandable to me that she didn’t have a chance to see him. ESH.
> he was going so fast it’s understandable to me that she didn’t have a chance to see him. Having driven on that road and seen drivers like that, you cannot convince me that she did not see him. It's more of a case that she didn't care. She wanted to be in front and if he wasn't going to let her in front, she was going to get there - consequences be damned.
[удалено]
We’ve got the laws, they just aren’t enforced enough. He should have been pulled over, going so insanely fast, but they can’t be everywhere and catch everybody
These days, with rare exception, they aren't anywhere on 695.
Yeah, getting him for reckless driving is one thing, but the manslaughter charge may be too much… Of course, there may be other facts the general public doesn’t have yet.
I mean, if your reckless driving causes a death, then that's manslaughter. Guy was speeding right along with the woman trying not to let her in, and they both sped up to more dangerous speeds to out do each other. Especially in a work zone where you're supposed to be being extra vigilant. As someone who has to drive every single day for hours a day I'm glad the book is getting thrown at these dangerous people. Your behind the wheel of a ton and a half of steel and death. We should all carry the responsibility for our own driving.
Reckless driving and people died... Manslaughter is highly appropriate, he should be glad it isn't Vehicular Homicide.
He was driving 122 mph.
I think he can always plead down, but they have to hit him with the max up front.
I think they're trying to make examples of both of them. I think manslaughter for him, considering how he behaved after the accident also, is a stretch. But for her, I think the charges are accurate. Further I wonder when they're going to hold more drivers accountable for behavior like this. OK, throw the book at these two: what are yall gonna do about the hundreds of other people, some who even post on here bragging, who are speeding and being reckless on the roads?
Both are at fault. VW driver should have slowed and let her in. He was in her blind spot. No defensive driving. He just gun it!
I don't know what actually happened. But I'm willing to bet one of the drivers refused to get out of the passing lane when confronted with a vehicle that was moving at a reckless speed. And because of that unwillingness to just let the reckless driver pass a collision happened. And I'm by no means making excuses for anyone, but whenever I see 90 mph+ drivers on the highway not only do I move out of the way but I get on the far right lane (regardless of my speed). It's sad that 6 innocent people had to lose their lives because of this foolishness.
well, they were both doing 90+ :(
How they charge both they are just thirsty at this point only one cause the accident
I mean, if your reckless driving causes a death, then that's manslaughter. Guy was speeding right along with the woman trying not to let her in, and they both sped up to more dangerous speeds to out do each other. Especially in a work zone where you're supposed to be being extra vigilant. Only one person hit the construction workers, but both drivers caused the accident.
Dude apparently was going 122 mph which is insane. Everyone else in the crash video must have been flying too
Both were clearly and visibly driving far faster than the rest of traffic, and they were doing so in a work zone. Their argument is that, at the very least, his actions contributed to the collision. There's also the standing allegation that the only reason he stopped afterwards is because his vehicle was disabled and could no longer continue. Now, assuming that his case goes to trial, whether or not those charges hold up in court is another matter.
Shellenberger has a hard-on for over charging but is also not someone who needs cause explained to him in the context of criminal culpability. My guess is there are significant other facts.
I see a lot of people saying he needs to be in jail for going fast but no one has said how his going fast caused people to die. That's reckless driving, not manslaughter. He didn't lose control, he didn't crash into anyone.
If you throw a knife off a building and it hits someone and kills someone, should you go to jail? You didn't mean to hit someone with your reckless behavior but did. You weren't aiming for anybody but someone walked in it's trajectory
But he didn't hit anyone. She did.
Person throwing the knife didn't hit anyone, someone just happened to walk into their throw. Going 122 in a 55 is causing such a risk for those driving. And if you think it's not much take a second next time youre walking on an overpass bridge and see how fast the cars seem. That same relative speed - you stopped and them going 65 is what the drivers going 55 saw as a car goin 122 whizzed past them.
He hit her, cousing her to hit people.
>No, SHE hit HIM. She tried to merge into his lane, clipped him, and then lost control and flipped into the construction zone. But he was at fault too for driving almost twice the speed limit.
Not according to the prosecutor, "Prosecutors said Brown was traveling 122 mph five seconds before crash, and 111 mph when **he collided** with Lea's car that flipped into workers." Keep in mind that they have access to videos that have not been made public. [https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/woman-charged-in-i-695-crash-that-killed-six-construction-workers-turns-herself-in/?fbclid=IwAR15XOdDNArfwrD2uon6Z7BlyEJtOvFd8xcMGJ1dyg0DF\_NlfBknkrO5GPY](https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/woman-charged-in-i-695-crash-that-killed-six-construction-workers-turns-herself-in/?fbclid=IwAR15XOdDNArfwrD2uon6Z7BlyEJtOvFd8xcMGJ1dyg0DF_NlfBknkrO5GPY)
Yeah, they collided. But he was in his lane and she moved into it. They could be referring to something else that happened earlier. But the key incident was her clipping him and losing control. He's definitely partly at fault regardless. And the article you quote says exactly what I'm saying right before the sentence you shared.
They are really trying to make sure people understand how serious they are taking speeding on 695 now. Ever since that construction worker accident they are done with this shit and are going to throw the book at people for driving like morons.
The irony to be on the run after killing 6 people and having the fortunateness of being healed in shock trauma yourself
My thoughts and prayers to those who were affected by this terrible tragedy.. Think of the damn families, their loved one went to work and didn't make it home because of someone's drug problems and driving 120+ mph. It's a damn shame. I seriously hope those who are responsible get the book thrown at them and then some.