A Maryland mother has a plea for help after an act that she calls plain evil.
She was in a car crash on New Year’s Day. As she laid on the ground unconscious, someone stole her purse. Inside the purse she had precious items from her son, a Marine who was killed in a crash.
Sandra Johnson-Carter has played a big role in getting controversial guardrails removed from roads in the D.C. area. Her son, Michael Carter Jr., died after hitting one of the guardrails about two years ago.
She carried in her purse two items from her son, his Marine Corps graduation ring and a necklace he gave her right before he died. On the back, it said, “To Mom. Love, Mike.”
In a recent interview, Johnson-Carter begged the person who stole her purse to return the mementos.
“If you have a heart, could you just return them? You can just put it in the mail to the address that’s on the ID,” she said through tears.
Johnson-Carter was on bedrest at home, wearing a neck brace and surrounded by memories of her son. Carter was 18 when he was killed in a crash in February 2018 on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
“The holidays are the hardest part for me since losing Mike,” his mother said.
Marine’s Mother on Mission to Get Guardrails Off Roads
So this year she decided to go to an event in downtown Baltimore to ring in the new year, hoping for a distraction. At midnight, she felt sad, though, and decided to leave.
Minutes after she left, another driver hit her from behind, propelling her car into a light pole.
“While I was down and out and waiting on help, someone reached into my car and stole my purse,” she said.
Johnson-Carter said she didn’t understand how someone could be so heartless.
“It was a cold act because they didn’t care if I had lived or died lying there,” she said.
She was hoping that cameras caught the thief in the act, but she said police told her the crash knocked out power to cameras.
Police are still looking for the driver who hit her, who took off. The crash occurred at 12:15 a.m. on New Year’s Day at Mulberry and Eutaw streets in Baltimore. If you saw anything, contact police.
