Construction Workers Recovering From Work Zone Crashes
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Several construction workers are still recovering, after a series of crashes in work zones around the area.
Two of the accidents happened in the same work zone, just two hours apart.
Traffic cam footage shows the police response to the most serious of three overnight crashes on Baltimore's beltway.
In one crash at the Harford Road exit, 2 construction workers were hospitalized after state police say an SUV plowed into a marked construction zone, hitting a parked truck and pushing it into the workers.
"They've told me speed and driver inattention," says Greg Shipley, with Maryland State Police.
He says there was even a trooper stationed at the scene with lights flashing.
"We had five people injured overnight in three different work-zone-related crashes. This emphasizes, obviously, the importance of traffic safety -- especially in work zones -- at any hour of the day or night."
The first crash Friday morning also happened at the Harford Road exit at 1 a.m. Police say a driver didn't slow down and hit a construction truck.
The second crash happened at 2:30 at the Providence Road exit. Police say drivers slammed into each other because they failed to merge, followed by a third crash at 3 a.m., which injured construction workers on Harford Road.
State high officials say the main causes behind most work zone accidents are speeding, aggressive, and inattentive drivers.
"There's a lot of times I'm going home late at night, and I'm looking at these guys on the side of the road," says driver Joel Santiago.
Joel Santiago travels along eastern 695 every day and the crashes come as no surprise to him.
"Nobody wants to let anybody over and nobody has patience anymore," he says.
After several previous accidents, state highway officials have campaigned for people to slow down and pay attention at work zones.
"Last year, we had six people killed in work zones and just this year, we've had many, many crashes," says Gregory Slater with Maryland State Highway Administration.
State police say traffic citations are pending against the drivers in all of the overnight crashes.
"There are plenty of signs, those areas are well lit, there are speed cameras at these work zones for the specific reason of keeping them as safe as possible," says Shipley.
Police say drugs and alcohol were not involved.
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