Posted on 03/28/24
| News Source: WMAR2NEWS
Baltimore, MD - Mar. 28, 2024 - One of two drivers responsible for the death of six construction workers on I-695 last March, will spend the next 18 months behind bars.
Melachi Brown previously pled guilty to six counts of felony auto manslaughter, and was facing up to 78 years in prison.
However in January, the Baltimore County State's Attorney's Office agreed to a plea deal.
The way it breaks down is prosecutors asked for 10-years for each offense, totaling 60 years.
However, they recommended all but three months be suspended for each count, which is how the 18 months came about. Brown will serve three-years of supervised probation upon release.
Up until Thursday, Brown was placed on pre-trial home detention, with orders not to drive. He has no prior criminal record.
Evidence suggests just five seconds before the deadly crash, Brown was traveling 122 mph in a 55 mph construction zone, and 111 mph at the time of impact.
Brown's involvement in the collision came when his car was struck by the second at-fault driver, Lisa Adrienna Lea.
Investigators believe it was Lea who made an unsafe lane change, causing her Acura to hit Brown's Volkswagen along the I-695 inner loop near Security Boulevard.
The impact led Lea's car to spin out and plow through the construction barrier, killing all six workers named below.
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 is scheduled to go to trial on April 1. Charging documents allege she was impaired and going 121 mph at the time of the crash.