One of the occupants of a car that struck and killed a 13-year-old girl in Silver Spring Tuesday has admitted to being the driver.
Esperanza O. Vasquez, 33, contacted police Wednesday and told them that she was driving at the time of the collision. Vasquez does not have a Maryland driver's license or learner's permit and investigators are attempting to determine if she has a valid license from elsewhere.
The collision occurred at Eastern Middle School in the 300 block of University Boulevard about 8:30 p.m.
Deborah Roxana Reyes Casasola, 13, and a woman were struck by the car while watching a soccer game at the school. The 2008 Ford Focus jumped the curb in the school's rear parking lot and plunged down a grassy slope toward the victims, police said.
Reyes Casasola was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries and later pronounced dead. The adult victim suffered minor leg injuries.
Police had said Wednesday that the occupants of the vehicle were refusing to say who was driving at the time of the collision, but Vasquez later contacted them to say that she was the driver.
Authorities said the car's owner is Roland B. Delgado-Romero, 33, who appears to have been the front passenger at the time of the accident and who has a valid Maryland license. A 26-year-old woman appears to have been a rear passenger. She holds a Maryland learner's permit and was apparently practicing driving in the parking lot. School surveillance video shows the occupants switching seats prior to the incident, which is apparently when Vasquez took the wheel, though that can't be seen on the video.
Local
Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia local news, events and information
The video does not show the collision.
No charges have been filed as the investigation continues.
