Maryland State Police released Thursday the names and identities of the six construction workers killed in a crash on Interstate 695, also known as the Baltimore Beltway.
The crash occurred Wednesday in Woodlawn on the Inner Loop of I-695, just before exit 17, for Security Boulevard.
A preliminary chronology of the incident, along with the identities of the two drivers involved, was also released.
According to police, at around 12:41 p.m., Randallstown resident Lisa Lea, 54, was attempting to change lanes on the inner loop in her gray Acura TLX sedan.
As she went from lane to lane, Ms. Lea’s car hit the passenger-side, front-corner panel of a Volkswagen driven by Windsor Mills resident Melachi Brown, 20.
Law enforcement believes that the impact between the vehicles caused Ms. Lea to lose control, and subsequently go in between temporary jersey walls into a construction zone on the left shoulder.
The Acura hit six construction workers and flipped over onto its back.
The Maryland Department of Transportation had initially indicated that seven vehicles were involved in the crash; statements from police Wednesday afternoon only mentioned the Acura, with new information released later that night indicating the involvement of a second driver.
Ms. Lea was taken to the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, where she is still recuperating.
An uninjured Mr. Brown, meanwhile, traveled north of the scene before his Volkswagen, the color and model of which were not identified by Maryland State Police, stopped working.
The six workers inside the construction zone, all of whom were pronounced dead at the scene, were:
• Rolando Ruiz, 46, of Laurel.
• Jose Armando Escobar, 52, of Frederick.
• Carlos Orlando Villatoro Escobar, 43, of Frederick.
• Sybil Lee Dimaggio, 46, of Glen Burnie.
• Mahlon Simmons II, 52, of Union Bridge.
• Mahlon Simmons III, 31, of Union Bridge.
Once the investigation into the crash is finished, the findings will be sent to the Baltimore County State Attorney’s Office to determine whether charges will be filed.
• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.
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