Harford County woman fighting for her life after she was struck by car, left in ditch, deputies say

A 21-year-old woman is fighting for her life at a hospital after she was struck by a car this week and left in a ditch overnight in Harford County, according to her mother.

Lebogang-Ram Motshabi, 25, has been charged in a hit-and-run that left the woman severely injured along S. Tollgate Road at Aiken Terrace, the Harford County Sheriff's Office said. 

Officials say Amaya Marie Martise remains in serious condition. 

On Feb. 9, Motshabi, from Abingdon, allegedly struck the woman, took off, and left her in a ditch, according to deputies. 

A driver found the woman around 9 a.m. the next day alive and in the ditch, officers said.

Motshabi was arrested and then released on a $5,000 bond. He has been charged with failure to immediately return and remain at the scene of an accident involving bodily injury; failure to report to the nearest police; driving a motor vehicle without a license and driving an uninsured vehicle.

The hit-and-run arrest

Deputies said Martise was walking home from Walmart when she was hit by the car, which fled the scene.

On Feb. 11, a deputy from the Traffic Unit spotted a vehicle on Logan Circle with damage consistent with having struck the woman, according to the sheriff's office.

Motshabi was then identified as the operator of the vehicle.

"The tape was right over there and kind of came down, so I don't know, 50 feet or something like that they had all taped off," said Hazel Hopkins, who lives nearby. 

Hopkins told WJZ she saw the aftermath of the incident.

"We just found out it was in the 30s that night and she was in that ditch the whole time," Hopkins said.

Deputies said Martise was flown to a trauma center where she is still recovering.

"I'm so grateful she's alive," Hopkins said.