Girl’s death ruled an accident

The youngster was seen with her 38-year-old mother and 4-year-old brother walking along River Road after dark on June 26. Police received three 911 calls related to the trio.

The first came in about 9:30 p.m., describing an unoccupied blue Toyota Sienna van in the road near River Road and Maidens Bower Drive.

When police arrived, no one was at the car. Police said the mother had abandoned the van with her children. They were walking along River Road when they were picked up by a passing motorist and driven to the BP service station at Falls and River roads. The mom told the gas station attendants she was having car trouble.

Police received a second call shortly after 10 p.m. This one reported that a mother and her two children needed assistance at the BP station. Employees there were concerned about the woman’s mental state and the children, county police said in a June 27 statement. An employee at the station, Sheriff Njie, told The Gazette June 30 that the woman was acting strangely. She told attendants there she was out of gas. She left the children at the station while she went to a nearby cash machine, and returned shortly after to pay for ice cream for the children and a pack of cigarettes, Njie said.

At the time, neither child appeared hurt, he said. When he last saw the woman, she was walking with the children on River Road back toward the direction of the van. The family had left the station by the time police arrived. Officers searched the area, but did not find the family, police said.

Police responded to a third emergency call around 10:51 p.m. That caller reported a woman was carrying a child and walking with another in the street on River Road.

Police believe the woman and her children were given another ride by a passing motorist, this time back in the direction of their disabled van. While police aren’t sure where on River Road the family was dropped off, investigators found blood on the road near Spur Wheel Lane, about three miles from the van near Maidens Bower Drive. It is not clear whose blood it was.

The family was taken by a third motorist to Cabin John Fire Station 10 at 8001 River Road, near the Beltway, arriving shortly after 11 p.m., police said. The girl was clearly injured and taken to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

No charges have been filed, and police are continuing to investigate the case.