This audio is automatically generated. Please let us know if you have any comments.
Dive brief:
- Relatives of highway construction worker killed in 2023 crash on I-695 near Baltimore have filed a lawsuit against the contractorclaiming it failed to “ensure a safe construction zone for those working on the project,” the Baltimore Banner reported.
- Sybil DiMaggio, 46, was one of six workers killed when two cars collided, sending one into a work zone on the Maryland highway. Her husband and children filed the lawsuit Oct. 10 in Baltimore County Circuit Court against Gaithersburg, Md.-based road builder Concrete General Inc., as well as the state of Maryland and the two motorists
- The suit seeks a judgment for damages in excess of $75,000 for DiMaggio’s family, according to the Baltimore Sun. It claims a knockdown warning sign was not reinstalled, a 150-foot-long opening in a concrete barrier allowed vehicles to access the work zone, and a truck designed to protect workers was parked in a site that provided no protection, according to the Baltimore. flag
Diving knowledge:
On March 22, 2023, driver Lisa Lea was traveling more than 100 mph on the freeway when she tried to move into another lane, officials said, and another driver, Melachi Brown, was also speeding when she cut her off . Lea’s vehicle went through the opening of the concrete barrier, overturning several times and strike and killing of workers.
Brown pleaded guilty to six counts of negligent vehicular manslaughter and was convicted 18 months in prison. Lea’s trial is scheduled for April 2025.
DiMaggio, an employee of Sparks, Md., construction and consulting firm KCI Technologies Inc., was working on materials testing at the job site when she was killed.
“We want accountability for what has happened to our loved one,” said Dylan DiMaggio, Sybil DiMaggio’s son, the Baltimore Banner reported. “Not a day goes by that we don’t think about her. It’s hard every day.”
Concrete General did not respond to Construction Dive’s request for comment. TThe state Highway Administration, which hired Concrete General for the project, said in a statement shared with the Baltimore Sun that the signs would not have prevented the crash and does not comment on pending litigation.
