A 35-year-old woman was killed in Landover, Maryland, Tuesday when the car she was driving was struck by a stolen car carrying four juveniles.
Shaunte Denise Canty of Washington, D.C., was killed, according to WTTG-TV.
The Prince George’s County Police Department said the accident took place at about 3:50 p.m.
Patrol officers from nearby Seat Pleasant, Maryland, had spotted a vehicle that had been reported stolen four days earlier and followed the vehicle, but did not pursue it.
The vehicle ran a red light and hit Canty’s vehicle, police said.
Canty was pronounced dead at the scene. A child riding in her vehicle was hospitalized with what police said were serious but not life-threatening injuries.
Three of the four male teens in the stolen car were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries; the fourth was arrested.
The teens ranged in age from 13 to 17, according to WTTG-TV.
Police said that the officers who initially spotted the car were told to stop following it because their department was planning to put a helicopter in the air to watch the vehicle.
Should police be more aggressive in these types of situations?
Prince George’s County Interim Police Chief George Nader said Seat Pleasant officers initially followed at a distance to avoid alerting the occupants of the vehicle they had been spotted, according to WBFF-TV.
“What they were trying to do was keep eyes on it until we got the helicopter in the air that could follow it,” Nader said.
A mother is dead. Her two year-old child is recovering.
Will the four juveniles inside the stolen car that hit them face ANY consequences for their crimes?
Sobering insights on Maryland’s juvenile justice laws from @LELDF_President in @7NewsDC https://t.co/qligigHTGR pic.twitter.com/FFQaLcdcRk
— Law Enforcement Legal Defense (@LELDF) August 28, 2025
Prince George’s County police are investigating the four teens for other crimes.
WBFF reported that it was told the car had been used in an armed robbery.
County Executive Aisha Braveboy noted that Tuesday was the first day of school in Prince George’s County.
“Today is just a very sad day in Prince George’s County,” Braveboy said. “Young people have to be in school. They have to be focused on learning and their education, and their future. When they take their eyes off that, they end up in situations like this.”
State’s Attorney Tara Jackson said charges will be filed as necessary.
“Instead of celebrating our children, we’re talking about a life that was lost,” Jackson said. “Whatever violations of the law we see, we will charge for that … We have got to hold our young people responsible. If we don’t, we will continue to see tragedies like the one that we’ve seen today.”
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