Man sentenced to 6 years after violating probation in deadly Maryland crash conviction

A man who was convicted in a deadly crash on I-695 in Maryland has been sentenced to six years after admitting to violating his probation and driving on a suspended license, according to the Baltimore County State's Attorney's Office. 

Melachi Brown, 22, was also ordered to serve three years of probation, with the judge saying he poses an extreme risk to public safety.

Deadly work zone crash 

Brown was initially sentenced to 18 months in prison after the crash in 2023 in which he was found to be speeding. He pleaded guilty to six felony manslaughter counts in a plea deal. 

Another woman, Lisa Lea, was convicted in the crash after she collided with Brown's car, sending both of them crashing into a work zone. She was sentenced to 30 years in prison after pleading guilty to six counts of vehicular manslaughter, court records show. 

In June 2024, Brown was released from jail and ordered to serve home detention. He was also ordered to serve three years of probation and was prohibited from driving a car until the end of his probation term, according to court records. 

However, in March, Brown was detained for violating probation, police said. He was pulled over in December 2025 for non-working taillights and was found to be driving without a license. 

During the traffic stop, Brown told officers that he was driving for his friends who were leaving a hospital and going to a McDonald's.

Family outraged

In February, WJZ spoke with the brother of one of the victims who died in the crash. He believes Brown should never be behind the wheel and previously raised concerns after Brown was allowed to serve home detention. 

"I was furious," Jim DiMaggio told WJZ after Brown was found driving without a license. "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 It turns out, it was revoked, and he didn't listen to that either."