Overview
- Lea admitted to six counts of negligent vehicular manslaughter in Baltimore County Circuit Court for the March 2023 Beltway crash.
- Judge Dennis M. Robinson Jr. set sentencing for Jan. 30, 2026 and allowed Lea to remain on home detention as the state seeks a 24-year prison term with probation and community service.
- Assistant state’s attorneys urged a 60-year sentence with 36 years suspended under their recommendation, leaving the final punishment to the judge.
- The NTSB found both drivers were traveling over 120 mph and that an unsafe lane change sent a car through a barrier gap into the work zone, reporting no evidence of a sudden medical event and noting delta‑9 THC in Lea’s blood.
- A civil suit by a victim’s family targets Maryland and the contractor over worker protections, while MDOT SHA has implemented stricter work-zone rules and the Maryland Road Worker Protection Act expanded enforcement.