Video shows response to girl killed in fiery crash after Howard County police chase
Police body-worn camera footage shows the response to a fiery crash that killed teenage girl following a pursuit by an officer in Howard County on January 17.
The Attorney General's Independent Investigations Division (IID) is looking into the deadly crash that started with the girl speeding away from an attempted traffic stop on Rt. 32 (Patuxent Freeway) in Columbia.
The video shows the officer reporting that the car had crashed and overturned in a ditch. The vehicle then caught fire as the officer approached. The fire grew as officers extinguished the flames.
The Maryland Attorney General's Office declined to identify the teenager, but there is a makeshift memorial at the scene for Diana Carolina G. Hernandez that shows she turned 17 in October.
The pursuit and crash
Around 1:50 a.m., investigators said the girl, who is younger than 18 years old, did not stop when an officer in an unmarked patrol vehicle turn on its lights and siren.
She crashed and flipped over in a wooded area off Broken Land Parkway before the vehicle caught fire and she died at the scene.
Officers attempted to put the fire out until members of the Howard County Fire and Rescue Services arrived.
Captured on camera
The body camera video began shortly before the teenager's car flipped over.
"It just crashed. It just wrecked out," Police Officer First Class Brian Maurantonio said in a portion of the video released by the Attorney General's Independent Investigations Division. You can watch the portions released to the public here.
The Howard County traffic enforcement officer who had been pursuing the Honda Accord for speeding pulled over but waited for backup to arrive before approaching.
"I'm still waiting. It's in the ditch. I don't see any movement. I'm waiting for backup. It's not safe to go towards the vehicle," Maurantonio said.
Roughly a minute and a half after the crash, that backup arrived and the officer approached and identified himself.
Police quickly noticed the Honda was on fire.
Officer Maurantonio rushed to get a fire extinguisher as the flames grew.
His extinguisher did not work, but more officers on the scene fought the flames with their fire extinguishers in a desperate attempt to save the person inside.
"They might be trapped. I don't know if one got ejected or not, but no one got out of the car," Maurantonio said.
The Independent Investigations Division also released a second portion of video from a "witness officer" showing more frantic attempts to put out the flames.
Loved ones mourn
WJZ Investigates found a makeshift memorial at the site of the tragedy.
It includes Rosary beads and a cross with the name Diana Carolina G. Hernandez, born in October 2008 and the date of the crash, January 17, 2026.
The Maryland Attorney General's office, which is leading the investigation, is not naming the girl who died, citing her age.
The office declined comment to WJZ Wednesday.
Pursuit policy
Howard County police have a detailed pursuit policy that states the safety of the public and officers is the primary concern.
"Police vehicles in the pursuit shall be operated with all emergency equipment activated," according to the policy.
You can read it in full here.
Anyone with information should call the IID at (410) 576-7070 or email IID@oag.maryland.gov.
