A state highway worker died January 31 while working along a portion of Interstate 695 in Baltimore County. Details of the fatal Maryland car accident are as follows:
John C. Kahl, a 54-year-old man from Port Deposit in Cecil County, died in a car versus pedestrian accident the afternoon of Friday, Jan. 31. Kahl was an employee for Erosion Control & Landscape Service. He was conducting landscaping work that the company was subcontracted to do for a State Highway Administration project in Pikesville.
Kahl was working off the right shoulder next to the inner loop of Interstate 695—the Baltimore Beltway—near Liberty Road around 2 p.m. when the accident occurred. According to Maryland State Police, a 2001 Ford pickup truck that was traveling along the highway veered off the road and crashed into Kahl and a piece of landscaping equipment he was using to complete the work. Kahl was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident. Two of his coworkers who witnessed the accident were not injured.
The driver of the vehicle has been identified as 54-year-old Brian K. Seitz of Marriottsville. He declined medical treatment at the scene of the accident. It was not immediately clear what caused Seitz to lose control of his vehicle or how fast he was traveling when the accident occurred. State police closed off the road for several hours to investigate the scene of the I-695 crash. Charges are still pending.
The State Highway Administration expressed condolences to Kahl’s family and urged drivers to use caution in work zones. A portion of the press release stated, “With yet another person killed while working along a Maryland highway today, we are solemnly reminded that every driver should remain alert and careful to keep workers safe.”