Family outraged after man convicted in I-695 crash that killed 6 cited for driving without license

WJZ Investigates has learned Melachi Brown, one of the drivers sentenced for the 2023 Baltimore Beltway work zone crash that killed six construction workers, was pulled over in December for driving without a license. 

The brother of one of the victims is outraged and believes Brown should never be behind the wheel of a vehicle. 

He previously raised alarms after Brown successfully petitioned a judge in 2024 to let him serve his remaining sentence on home detention. 

Demanding justice 

Jim DiMaggio told WJZ Investigator Mike Hellgren Wednesday he was "furious" when he learned police pulled over Melachi Brown driving in Baltimore County.

Brown, who pleaded guilty to negligent manslaughter in the death of DiMaggio's sister Sybil and five other construction workers on the Baltimore Beltway in March 2023, was prohibited from driving as part of his punishment. 

All but 18 months of Brown's original 60-year sentence was suspended. 

New case 

Charging documents obtained by WJZ Investigates show Brown was pulled over at 2:20 a.m. on December 9 near Liberty and Rolling roads with taillights that did not work. 

"When the officer asked the driver to provide his license and the vehicle's registration, the driver immediately stated that he does not have a license," police wrote in charging documents. "When asked why he was driving without a license, he stated that he was just driving for his friend as they were leaving the hospital and going to McDonald's. The driver then provided his MVA Identification Card and at that time was positively identified as Defendant Melachi Duane Darnell Brown. When asked about the taillights, the passenger of the vehicle stated that the vehicle was recently in an accident that may have damaged the lights."

Jim DiMaggio told Hellgren, "I was furious. I only had to go off what the state's attorney had to tell us, and she said his license would be suspended forever. It turns out, it was revoked, and he didn't listen to that either."

Asking for mercy 

Adding to DiMaggio's outrage, in June 2024 Brown successfully petitioned a judge to let him serve his remaining original sentence in home detention, saying he was depressed, anxious and feared he would be attacked behind bars. 

At the time, Brown pleaded for mercy from Judge Vicki Ballou-Watts.

"I would just please ask you to spare me. I'm not a danger to society," Brown said.

Judge Ballou-Watts told Brown at that hearing, "For a person such as you who has stepped up, who has not been identified as the primary cause… I believe it is appropriate to take [this] action."

The Baltimore County State's Attorney's office opposed the shift to home detention.

Brown was sentenced a year after the crash, where prosecutors said he was speeding at 111 mph when his car made contact with another vehicle driven by Lisa Lea.

DiMaggio feels Brown only got a slap on the wrist. 

"I'm disappointed with our judicial system. I'm disappointed with him for doing what he did," DiMaggio said. "It's hard. My niece and nephew, they didn't even get to say goodbye. I just can't imagine. My biggest thing is slow down. Nobody should have to go through what my family and five other families went through."

DiMaggio's children previously spoke exclusively to Hellgren. 

"Just in an instant, your whole world is overturned. Nothing is the same. You don't cope with it. You don't move on," her daughter Nora DiMaggio said. 

The siblings told WJZ their mom, a veteran construction worker, found that particular construction site unnerving. 

"She was very afraid because she had to exit and re-enter the job site frequently—just constantly in and out of the cars, trying to get through that space," her daughter said. "She hated it. She hated working there because it was so nerve-racking for her that something could happen so easily."

Brown speaks 

Malachi Brown spoke to WJZ Wednesday following the postponement of a hearing in the new traffic case.

He said he wanted people to know he was remorseful and not a bad person. 

"This is a lot for me with somebody who hasn't ever dealt with court systems, somebody who's never had a bad record, and for somebody who was in the wrong place at the wrong time for this to happen to them, and then it's like you're trying to fight for your dignity," Brown said.

He said, "I still take accountability for everything. I'm still a person at the same time."

Court records show he is being represented by the public defender's office. 

That office declined to make anyone available for comment. 

The lawyer who represented Brown in the 2023 Beltway crash case said she is no longer his attorney.

Brown will be back in court in March for his December 2025 driving on a revoked license case. 

Baltimore County State's Attorney Scott Shellenberger told Hellgren he is "actively pursuing" that new case. 

Last month, Lisa Lea, the other driver involved in the 2023 crash, was sentenced to 30 years behind bars. 

 Video showed Lea's car going through a gap in the protective barrier and then flipping on top of the construction workers.

In addition to Sybil DiMaggio, 46, the crash killed Rolando Ruiz, 46, of Laurel; Carlos Orlando Villatoro Escobar, 43, of Frederick; Jose Armando Escobar, 52, of Frederick; Mahlon Simmons III, 30, of Union Bridge; and Mahlon Simmons II, 52, of Union.