A Maryland woman pleaded guilty Tuesday to six counts of negligent vehicular manslaughter in connection with a crash on I-695 in Baltimore County that killed six construction workers in 2023.

Lisa Lea initially faced 28 charges. Under the plea deal, the state is asking for her to be sentenced to 24 years in prison, followed by three years of probation and 40 hours of community service. She would be prohibited from driving during that time.

"We thought it was extremely important that she be accountable for each of the victims that she killed," Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger said.

During a hearing on Tuesday, state prosecutors requested that Lea be remanded to jail. However, a judge ruled that she can remain in home detention until her sentencing hearing on Jan. 30, 2026.

There were moments during Tuesday's hearing where Lea choked up.

"She certainly seemed remorseful," said Baltimore County Assistant State's Attorney Felise Kelly. "No one gets in a car and has any intention to kill someone with their vehicle that day." 

Deadly Baltimore County crash

According to charging documents, Lea was driving over 100 mph when she collided with another driver, sending the two cars into a work zone along I-695 in March 2023. 

A report by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) found that Lea was trying to move across three lanes when she clipped the other car. The report also detailed that she had delta-9 THC in her blood, along with a medication that may have impaired her driving. 

A prior NTSB report said that Lea had a history of seizures and did not take her medication before the crash; however, medical records did not confirm this. 

Despite Lea telling investigators that she had a seizure before the crash, the final NTSB report showed there was no indication that a sudden medical event occurred.

Lea was initially charged with manslaughter, negligent homicide and causing the death of a person while driving. 

Second driver pleads guilty

The second driver, Malachi Brown, was also found to be speeding during the crash. He was charged with negligent manslaughter, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 months in prison. 

Brown was released early in June 2024, and ordered to serve home detention. 

Safety changes after work zone crash

Following the deadly crash, the family of one of the construction workers — Sybil DiMaggio — sued a contracting company and the state of Maryland, alleging they failed to create a safe construction zone. 

Michael Belsky represents the DiMaggio family. He said last week, his firm filed an amended complaint. He said it still lays blame at the state and the companies involved, as well as the erratic driving by Lea and Brown.

Belsky said contractors had asked for the fast lane to be closed, also a vehicle meant to block the gap Lea went through was moved shortly before the tragedy.

"At the time of the accident, and as stated in court by the prosecutor, there was an unprotected barrier; thus, there was no level of protection afforded at all to Ms. DiMaggio or the other construction workers," Belsky said.

Since the crash, the Maryland Department of Transportation State Highway Administration (MDOT SHA) has made several changes aimed at improving work zone safety. MDOT SHA implemented a policy that an adjacent lane must be closed when work is taking place and that the opening to a work zone must be blocked with a protection vehicle. 

After the crash, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore called for the creation of the Work Zone Safety Work Group, which is chaired by Lt. Gov. Aruna Miller. 

The group helped create the Maryland Road Worker Protection Act, a state law that allows for more speed cameras in work zones and increased fines for traffic violations.