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A 12-year-old girl who was driving a car was killed in a single vehicle crash early Sunday morning in Columbia, Howard County police said.
The driver, Josseline Molina Rivas, died at the scene, according to a news release from the Howard County Police Department. A male passenger, 36-year-old Mario Arturo-Artiga, was injured and remains in serious condition at the Maryland Shock Trauma Center. The two, who were not related, lived together in the same apartment on Basket Ring Road in Columbia with numerous family members and other residents, police said.
The crash occurred shortly after 2 a.m. when a 2017 Toyota Corolla traveling southbound on Broken Land Parkway, south of Cradlerock Way, drove off the road and hit a tree, police said.
It was not immediately clear why the girl was driving or why the two were out at that time in the morning, the press release said.
Police believe the vehicle was speeding and are investigating if either of the individuals was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
Authorities are working to determine how fast the vehicle was traveling at the time of the crash, Howard County police spokeswoman Sherry Llewellyn wrote in an email. The traffic enforcement and family crimes divisions are jointly investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident, she said.
The girl killed in the crash was a student in the Howard County public schools system, according to spokesman Brian Bassett.
The Columbia neighborhood where the family lives is largely residential, and primarily Black and Latino. There are schools within walking distance of the family’s home — an elementary school across the street and a middle school a mile away. Not too far, there is a mall with an international food store and a hair salon and barber shop that plays music in Spanish.
The family declined to talk with The Baltimore Banner at this time. But Pablo Rivas, the uncle, said they are hoping to raise some money for the funeral.
A GoFundMe fundraiser that was purportedly created to help the family with funeral expenses described Josseline as “sweet, beautiful and funny.”
“Josseline passed away unexpectedly in a car accident at the young age of 12. She had a promising and bright future ahead of her and her life was cut short,” the text on the site reads. “Unfortunately, the family does not have the funding to provide her with a proper funeral.”
The creator of the fundraiser did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Julie Scharper contributed to this story.
alissa.zhu@thebaltimorebanner.com
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