The 12-year-old girl who died after crashing a car into a tree in Columbia, Maryland, was identified Monday morning, along with her 36-year-old passenger who was seriously hurt.
Josseline Molina-Rivas died at the scene of the crash on Sunday. Her passenger, Mario Arturo-Artiga, 36, remains in serious condition, Howard County Police said.
Questions remain over why the girl was driving the vehicle and what the two were doing out early Sunday morning.
The crash happened around 2 a.m. when Molina-Rivas was driving Southbound on Broken Land Parkway just south of Cradlerock Way. The car veered off the road and struck a tree.
The girl isn’t related to Arturo-Artiga, but police said they lived in the same apartment with family members and others.
WTOP’s news partner at Telemundo reported that Molina-Rivas was driving in the car with her stepfather, Arturo-Artiga.
Speed is believed to be a factor in what caused the car to crash and police say they’re investigating whether drugs or alcohol were involved.
Here’s a map of the area where the crash happened:
