Local Teen Death Toll Rises: One Killed, Two Injured in Crash

UPDATE: NOVEMBER 29 – Thomas Stone to holds vigil for student tonight.

Thomas Stone High School plans to hold a candlelight vigil Thursday, Nov. 29, in honor and in memory of Stephanie Weir, a sophomore student who died Wednesday morning in an automobile accident.

The Thomas Stone student government association is planning the vigil for 7 p.m. on the school’s field hockey field. Members of the field hockey team had requested that the students hold the vigil in memory of Ms. Weir, who was a member of the varsity field hockey team. Ms. Weir was also a member of the ice hockey club team, the school jazz band and was on the principal’s academic honor list for the first quarter.

An emergency crisis team, composed of psychologists, counselors and pupil personnel workers, were at Thomas Stone on Wednesday as students arrived at school.

Two other students, a senior at Thomas Stone and a junior at North Point High School, were also injured in the accident, but are expected to recover from their injuries.

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UPDATE:  NOVEMBER 28

Shortly after 7 a.m.  Wednesday, Charles County Sheriff’s officers responded to the scene of a single vehicle crash on Poplar Hill Road in Waldorf.

Upon arrival, officers discovered three teenagers in the vehicle, one of whom was killed in the crash.  A preliminary investigation revealed that the driver lost control of the vehicle, a 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier, as she drove west on Poplar Hill Road.  The vehicle crossed the center line, skidded sideways and struck a tree on the south side of the roadway.  The passenger side of the vehicle sustained the most damage from the crash.

The front passenger, Stephanie Weir, 15, of Brandywine in Charles County, was pronounced dead at the scene.  She was a 10th grade student at Thomas Stone High School.

The driver, a 17-year-old girl, and another passenger, a 16-year-old boy, received serious injuries in the crash and were medevac’d by Maryland State Police helicopter to Prince George’s Hospital Center’s Shock Trauma Unit.  

The driver, Laura Ritter, a senior at Thomas Stone High School, was in critical condition after the crash.  The injured passenger, Johnathan Sudik, a junior at North Point High School, is in good condition.  They both also reside in the Charles County area of Brandywine.

After a preliminary investigation, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office indicates that speed and driver error appear to be factors in the crash.  The driver and passengers were wearing seatbelts.  Cpl. D. Belfield of the Traffic Operations Unit is investigating.  A portion of Poplar Hill Road remains closed for the investigation.  

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