1 Teen Dead, Another Injured After Suspected Street Race
GAITHERSBURG, Md. (WJZ) -- A Maryland teen is dead and another young teen is seriously injured after they were mowed down on the sidewalk by teen drivers. Police believe those drivers may have been street racing at the time.
Christie Ileto has more.
Police are investigating whether possible racing killed one teen pedestrian and sent another to the hospital in critical condition.
Pictures, flowers and a badly battered tree mark the spot Tuesday night where police say teen drivers collided on Muncaster Mill Road in Gaithersburg, killing pedestrian Teressa French and seriously injuring her friend, Emma Lowe.
"Very sad to know that it ended the way it did," said Minnie Pope.
Police say the girls were walking on the sidewalk near their school when a Chrysler Sebing careened into the pair as the two northbound lanes merged. Police are now investigating whether the drivers were street racing.
The crash happened right in front of Minnie Pope's home. She's lived on Muncaster Mill for 67 years.
"It's just too bad for young people to behave like that," said Pope.
Witnesses tell police they heard the drivers rev their engines when stopped at a light. When the light turned green, they raced down the 35-mile-an-hour road before spinning out of control.
Frustrations are mounting in the community.
"It just sounds like a broken record to them and they just kind of ignore it," said Magruder High student Azevedo Evatanto.
This latest fatal crash happened just 24 hours after teenage pop icon Justin Bieber was arrested after police pulled him over for racing. Officers say he, too, was speeding in a residential zone.
For now, this makeshift memorial serves as yet another cautionary tale to Maryland's youngest drivers to follow the posted speed limit and be safe.
If it turns out the teen drivers responsible were street racing, the pair could face some serious charges.
Lowe is recovering at Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Other Local News: