On Wednesday, March 22, 2023, about 12:36 p.m., six highway workers were struck by a passenger vehicle in a work zone along northbound (inner loop) Interstate 695 near Woodlawn, Maryland. The work zone was a long-term closure of the left shoulder, and all six workers were behind a series of concrete barriers in place to isolate workers from vehicles operating in the travel lanes. The crash occurred when a 2017 Acura TLX, traveling at a vehicle-recorded speed of 121 mph, moved from the right lane, across the two middle lanes and toward the left lane, and struck a 2017 Volkswagen Jetta, which was traveling at a vehicle-recorded speed of 122 mph. The Acura driver lost control, and the vehicle entered the work zone through an opening in the concrete barrier that was intended for work zone access. After striking the center concrete median barrier inside the work zone, the vehicle began to overturn. While overturning, the Acura struck construction materials and equipment and the six workers, who were standing in the work zone. The Volkswagen made a controlled stop in the left lane. All six workers were fatally injured, and the Acura driver was seriously injured.
We determined that the probable cause of the Woodlawn, Maryland, crash between a passenger vehicle and highway workers in a work zone was the excessive speed of two vehicles and unsafe lane change by the Acura driver, resulting in a collision with the Volkswagen and subsequent loss of control, entry into the work zone, rollover, and collision with the workers.
