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Dive brief:
- One of the two drivers charged in March 2023 accident that killed six construction workers on I-695 near Baltimore pleaded guilty to six counts of involuntary manslaughter, according to CBS News Baltimore.
- Each count carries the possibility of 3 months to 24 years in prison, but as part of a plea deal, Melachi Brown will likely face a year and a half in prison, followed by probation and community service, CBS reported . He will be sentenced in March.
- Brown, 20, was allegedly driving 121 mph when he cut off Lisa Lea, who court documents say was traveling 108 mph and trying to change lanes. Lea’s car drove into a work zone as a result, killing the construction workers. He faces the same charges and his trial is scheduled for April.
Diving knowledge:
The six victims were: Rolando Ruiz, 46 years old; Carlos Orlando Villatoro Escobar, 43; Jose Armando Escobar, 52; Mahlon Simmons III, 31; Mahlon Simmons II, 52; and Sybil Lee Dimaggio, 46, according to CBS News Baltimore.
In 2021, there were 956 Total fatalities in the work zone across the country, according to the National Workforce Safety Information Clearinghouse. In May, the Associated General Contractors of America found more than half (55%) of the roads surveyed Contractors reported motor vehicles crashing in their work areas during the last year.
Most of the time, AGC reported, motorists are injured or killed in these collisions. Seventy-two percent of respondents reported no injured workers and 92% reported no fatalities, but 59% had at least one rider or passenger injury and 16% a fatality. a motorcyclist
The I-695 crash grabbed national headlines, renewing conversations about ways to stop accidents in the work area and getting drivers to slow down. While speed cameras and fines can serve as a deterrent, not all state DOTs have adopted this practice. Road works often use orange barrels as a less expensive alternative to T-shirt barriers.
“We don’t realize that if we drive through a 5-mile construction zone at 70 mph versus 40 mph, it takes us just over three minutes longer to go those five miles,” said John Davis, the Association’s government affairs committee American Public Works. member and public works engineer, told Construction Dive in the weeks following the accident. “So are those three minutes worth it for our safety and the safety of the road workers? Probably so.”
