A 17-year-old girl is dead and two other teens are critically hurt after a car slammed into a pole in Montgomery County, Maryland, Wednesday morning, police say.
The car was coming around a curve on Norwood Road in Sandy Spring when it crashed into the wooden light pole about 8 a.m., Montgomery County police said.
Sanaa Vil, a 17-year-old high school senior, died. Another 17-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy who were also in the car are in critical condition, police said. The three teens are students at nearby Sherwood High School, Montgomery County Public Schools confirmed.
Vil was an active student in the Black Student Union and was on the Varsity Girls Basketball Team, Sherwood High School Principal Timothy Britton said in a letter.
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Drone video shared with News4 shows first responders surrounding the car moments after the crash. Eventually, a tow truck hauled away the red sedan, which looked almost unrecognizable with its entire roof crumpled.
"We are saddened by the news and are providing support to students, staff and families affected by this tragic event,” MCPS said in a statement.
"It breaks my heart because somebody isn't going home to their mom," Sandy Spring resident Joy Turner told News4. "I actually watched them load this child [into the ambulance] and, as a mother, it broke my heart to see this."
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Turner said she and her family have lived along Norwood Road for more than 50 years, and the area of the road is prone to crashes and cars running off the road.
"There have been numerous accidents coming around this curve. Many children have gone into the trees," she said.
"I think this curve should've been fixed a long time ago," resident Ronald Parrot said.
Police are investigating if the rainy weather and speed were factors in the crash.
