On July 3 at 8:54 p.m., Charles County Sheriff’s officers responded to the 4100 block of Columbia Park Road in White Plains for the report of a girl who was injured after falling off the back of a car. The investigation revealed the victim, Erica Chantel Pemberton, 16, of White Plains, was sitting on the trunk of a 2000 Acura 3.2 TL in her driveway when the driver, a 16-year-old La Plata boy, left the driveway with Pemberton still sitting on the trunk. While the vehicle was traveling down Columbia Park Road, Pemberton fell off and struck her head on the pavement.
Pemberton was flown by a Maryland State Police helicopter to the University of Maryland R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore in critical condition. On July 4, at approximately 3:30 a.m., Pemberton died as a result of her injuries. Neither speed nor alcohol appear to be factors.
Officer R. Taylor, Jr., of the Traffic Operations Unit is investigating.