TRANSPORTATION
Cars in deadly Md. work zone crash were reportedly speeding, NTSB says
Six construction workers were killed in the March 22 crash, highlighting the dangers faced by highway crews

By Ian Duncan
Updated April 13, 2023 at 4:19 p.m. EDT | Published April 13, 2023 at 2:34 p.m. EDT

Both cars involved in last month’s crash on the Baltimore Beltway that killed six construction workers were reportedly speeding, according to a preliminary report Thursday from the National Transportation Safety Board. ... The cars collided as one driver tried to change lanes, sending one vehicle barreling into a gap in concrete barriers inside the work zone.

“At the time of the crash, both vehicles were reportedly traveling at speeds in excess of the posted speed limit and greater than the speed of the adjacent traffic,” the NTSB said in a brief update on its investigation.

The report provided few new insights into a deadly crash in the early stages of investigation. The deaths, which could prompt investigators to recommend new safety protocols, brought fresh attention to the dangers highway crews face as a boom in road construction funded by the federal infrastructure law gets underway. ... Maryland State Police responded to the Baltimore County crash about 12:40 p.m. on March 22 along the inner loop of Interstate 695 at Security Boulevard.

[ 6 road construction workers die in Maryland when car crashes into them ]

Video recorded by a Maryland Department of Transportation traffic camera and obtained by The Washington Post showed an Acura changing lanes to the left and colliding with a Volkswagen, which was in the far left lane. The video shows the work crew was largely protected by concrete barriers, but the Acura went through a gap in the wall and careened into them.

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The Acura TLX, left, and Volkswagen Jetta after last month's crash.​ (NTSB)

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By Ian Duncan
Ian Duncan is a reporter covering federal transportation agencies and the politics of transportation. He previously worked at the Baltimore Sun for seven years, covering city hall, the military and criminal justice. He was part of the Sun's team covering Freddie Gray's death in 2015 and then-Mayor Catherine Pugh's Healthy Holly books scandal. Twitter https://twitter.com/iduncan