Girl, 12, dies after crashing car while stepdad was in passenger seat

She was pronounced dead at the scene but her stepdad is still alive

A 12-year-old girl has tragically died after seemingly crashing a car while her stepdad was in the passenger seat.

Josseline Molina-Rivas was killed when the car came off the road and hit a tree in Maryland, USA on Sunday.

Police said it was around 2am when Molina-Rivas was driving the car on Broken Land Parkway in Columbia.

Tragically, the 12-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene. Her stepdad, 36, was rushed to a hospital’s shock trauma centre, where he remains in a serious condition.

Meanwhile, Grecia Rivas, the girl’s mum, said she was at home and had no clue this was happening. She said she woke up and realised her daughter wasn’t at home.

Howard County Police are trying to figure out why 12-year-old Josseline Molina-Rivas was behind the wheel of a car when it crashed, 2am Sunday, killing Josseline and sending a 36-year-old male passenger, Mario Arturo-Artiga, to the hospital in serious condition. pic.twitter.com/j4p9fUySe2

— Sean Streicher (@SeanStreicher) July 25, 2022

Speaking to Telemundo 44, Rivas said: “I was asleep. I didn’t feel my girl, and when I woke up, I was scared. I couldn’t find my car keys. I didn’t know where Josseline was.

“I don’t know anything. I don’t even know where they were going. When I went to sleep, I went to sleep with her at my side. That’s why I woke up because my daughter wasn’t next to me.”

Howard County police said the young girl was behind the wheel of the family’s Toyota Corolla but some family members found this hard to believe.

Pablo Aaron Rivas, the girl’s uncle, said: “The police say she was driving, and we can’t accept that.”

The girl’s mum described her as “such an intelligent girl” who was “so happy” and “liked to go to school”.

#HoCoPolice continue investigation into fatal collision in Columbia. Read the full news release: https://t.co/2L0DU3GZZt pic.twitter.com/qMOExLnxbP

— Howard County Police Department (@HCPDNews) July 25, 2022

Sherry Llewellyn of Howard Country Police Department said the incident is “particularly unusual” because of the girl’s age, and the fact it happened at 2am.

“So we have a lot of investigation to do to determine all the details,” she added.

Police believe speed was a possible factor in the crash and are also trying to find out whether either the girl or her stepdad were under the influence of alcohol or drugs.

Josseline Molina Rivas
https://t.co/vDKKPkVJQR

— GuillAl (@bbetoc) July 26, 2022

A GoFundMe page set up in the young girl’s memory raised over $3,500 in just two days.

“Josseline was young and with a full life ahead of her,” it states, “she was in the 5th Grade. She enjoyed dancing and playing with her baby cousins.”

Sandy Guerrero, the organiser of the page, wrote: “I am currently asking for donations to help cover the cost of Josseline’s funeral. We need to raise 20,000 by July 27th in order to be able to afford the funeral service. Any contributions would be greatly appreciated and help her mother to put, her only child, to rest.”

The investigation continues.

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