On Jan. 21 a 17-year-old Brandywine girl was charged with reckless and negligent driving as a result of the Charles County Sheriff’s Office’s investigation into a single-vehicle crash in November 2007.  The crash killed 15-year-old Thomas Stone High School student Stephanie Weir and injured 16-year-old North Point High School student Jonathan Sudik on their way to school that morning.

  According to court documents the driver, Laura Ritter, a Thomas Stone High School senior, is scheduled to face charges on April 25 at the Charles County District Court in La Plata.

  Ritter was driving a 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier west on Poplar Hill Road in Waldorf when she lost control and crossed the center line.  The vehicle skidded sideways and its passenger side collided with several trees on the left side of the roadway.  Weir was the front passenger and was pronounced dead at the scene. 

  Ritter and Sudik were flown by a Maryland State Police helicopter to Prince George’s Hospital Center’s Shock Trauma Unit.  The driver was in critical condition but was eventually released from the hospital.  The injured passenger was released from the hospital the same day of the incident.  All three teens lived in the Charles County area of Brandywine. 

  Charles County Sheriff’s Office Information Officer Kristen Timko told The Bay Net that Ritter had also been critically injured as a result of the accident, but could release no specific information about the injuries she sustained.

  The Sheriff’s Office later determined the driver was speeding at the time of the crash. The driver was not wearing her seatbelt but the other passengers were wearing theirs. The charges were issued after the Sheriff’s Office reviewed the case with the County State’s Attorney’s Office.

  Timko said,” After a thorough investigation of the crash, the Sheriff’s Office consulted with the State’s Attorney’s Office to discuss what charges were applicable. Based on the investigation, they determined her actions behind the wheel, including speeding, warranted the reckless and negligent driving charges.” 

  According to Timko, the penalties for reckless driving are a $510 fine and possible points and the penalties for negligent driving are a $140 fine and possible points.

  This crash was the final incident in the space of 39 days last autumn
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