The Charles County Sheriff’s Office has charged a 17-year-old Waldorf boy with failure to immediately stop his vehicle at the scene of an accident involving bodily injury in connection with a hit-and-run in August that seriously injured a 20-year-old Waldorf woman who was jogging on a bike path.
The incident occurred in the 2000 block of Edinburg Court, which is located in the Wakefield neighborhood of Waldorf. Sheriff’s officers responded on Aug. 23 at 10:35 a.m. for the report of a woman lying on the bike path. They found her suffering from multiple injuries and she was flown by a Maryland State Police helicopter to a hospital for treatment. She was released from the hospital the following day. The investigation revealed the woman was jogging on the path when she was struck by a vehicle that approached her from behind.
Detectives canvassed the neighborhood for information with assistance from patrol and community policing officers, and the Sheriff’s Office also appealed for information through the news media. Charles County Crime Solvers offered a reward of up to $1,000 and American Community Properties Trust (ACPT), the developer of the St. Charles community, which includes Wakefield, announces its contribution of an additional $1,000 in reward money.
After an anonymous person called Crime Solvers, detectives investigated the information and subsequently identified the suspect. He was charged as a juvenile on Sept. 28 at 4:30 p.m. after turning himself in at the Sheriff’s Headquarters in La Plata. In addition to fleeing the crash, he is also charged with failure of driver involved in accident to render reasonable assistance to an injured person, negligent driving and reckless driving. He was released to the custody of a parent pending further action by the Department of Juvenile Services.
The incident was a chance encounter between the victim and the accused; they were not related and did not know each other. Detectives are investigating why the accused left the roadway and they do not believe the victim was targeted.
“The circumstances of this case are extremely unfortunate but as the victim continues to recover from her injuries, we hope we have given her and her family a sense of closure,” said Charles County Sheriff Frederick E. Davis. “I am proud of the detectives’ relentless pursuit of justice and grateful to Crime Solvers, ACPT and the news media for their contributions to the closure of this investigation.”