A 21-year-old woman has died days after a New Year's Eve crash that also killed her teenage sister in Waldorf, Maryland.
The older sister, Nadia Mourtaj, was driving a Mercury Milan northbound on St. Charles Parkway just north of St. Marks Drive on Dec. 31 when the car started skidding, went off the road and struck a tree. The road was slick from rain at the time of the crash.
Her 15-year-old sister, Zeyneb Mourtaj, died in the crash.
Nadia Mourtaj was critically injured. She died Wednesday morning as a result of her injuries, the sheriff's office said.
The sisters' cousin Meklit Teclehaimanot, 18, was riding in the passenger seat and survived the crash with a broken arm.
"The car started swerving and we didn't have any control over the car," Teclehaimanot told News4 previously.
"I remember it was like going into the trees and that's the last thing I remember," Teclehaimanot said.
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Zeyneb Mourtaj was in the backseat of the car.
Nadia Mourtaj was a senior at Elizabethtown College in Pennsylvania.
Zeyneb Mourtaj was an accomplished freshman at North Point High School in Waldorf and was involved in student government and the school's Construction Design Management Program, according to a letter Principal Daniel Kaple sent to students.
The ninth-grade student was also a member of the Charles County Association of Student Councils.
"Zeyneb was a really excellent student. She had a 4.0, straight As. Same with Nadia," Teclehaimanot said.
The sheriff's office said Thursday that in the past five years, it has investigated 26 crashes on the half-mile stretch of road on St. Charles Parkway where the young family members crashed.
Residents in the area say the curve in that section of road is particularly dangerous.
"I've seen a guy on a motorcycle one time actually just get hit and wound up in the parking lot," said Sean Dortch, who owns a shoe repair shop that faces St. Charles Parkway.
Jeremiah Hart told News4 he survived a crash five months ago on the parkway and he almost died after his skull was fractured.
"I was driving along. I noticed the light was red. I hit the brake as fast as I could to slow down and just all of a sudden my car slid into all of the traffic," Hart said.
Authorities said a traffic safety committee will investigate the St. Charles Parkway more closely and consider making changes.
