At 4:36 p.m. Dec. 31, Charles County Sheriff’s officers responded to the 7300 block of Hawthorne Road in La Plata for the report of a vehicle crash.
Investigation revealed a 1994 Chevrolet pickup truck was westbound on Hawthorne Road when the driver, a 16-year-old La Plata boy, became distracted while attempting to play a CD.
The truck left the roadway and struck several mailboxes, one of which crashed through the windshield and struck the passenger, the driver’s 9-year-old brother, in the head.
The child was flown by a Maryland State Police helicopter to Children’s Hospital, and his injuries were said to be non-life-threatening. The driver was not injured.
Cpl. D. Belfield of the Traffic Operations Unit is investigating.