Drunk Driver Hits 2 Road Construction Workers In Severn: Police

SEVERN, MD — A Severn woman is suspected of driving drunk when she struck two construction workers on Annapolis Road after they had closed a lane. The accident happened about 9:25 p.m. Wednesday on MD-175 at Walker Drive in Severn as two construction workers with Peak Incorporated put cones out to close the right lane of northbound Annapolis Road for the State Highway Administration.

The work was almost complete and the right lane had been closed for over half a mile when a 1994 GMC Sierra pickup driven by Valerie Helen Matthews, 63, of the 8400 block of Pioneer Drive in Severn, entered the closed lane and struck the two workers as they stood in the closed road section, according to Anne Arundel County Police.

Both workers were taken to Shock Trauma in Baltimore, one with critical injuries and one with possible serious injuries. Matthews was not injured, but was suspected to be under the influence of alcohol and taken for an alcohol test.

Authorities say the cause of the crash was the GMC driver’s failure to obey the marked lane closure and alcohol was also a likely contributing factor. The Traffic Safety Section is handling the investigation and any charges will be filed after review by the State’s Attorney.

Worker Walter I. Gonzalez-Lopez, 56, of Baltimore suffered critical injuries, while worker Edin O. Romero-Maldonado, 19, of Baltimore suffered serious injuries, police say.

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