Woman Killed, 13 Injured After Car Crashes Into Child's Birthday Party: Police

BLADENSBURG, MD — A woman was killed and 13 people were hurt — including eight children — after a 66-year-old man reportedly crashed his vehicle into a group of people celebrating a child's birthday party Saturday under a white tent, authorities said.

The incident happened around 10:15 p.m. Oct. 18 at a home in the 4100 block of 56th Avenue. Bladensburg police reported the driver was heading from Annapolis Road. After the crash, the driver fled, but then turned himself in to police on Sunday. The Washington, D.C., resident likely will face criminal charges, police reported.

Acting Bladensburg police chief Daniel Frishkorn told The Washington Post the driver, identified as Sunday Joseph, had been driving in reverse.

“Prior to the crash, the striking vehicle, which was a passenger vehicle, was traveling in reverse from the area of Annapolis Road when it entered into the residential property and drove through a tent that was in place for a birthday party where the victims were gathered,” Frishkorn told The Post.

The crash appears to be accidental and not targeted, Frishkorn said.

An investigation into whether the crash was alcohol-related, or speed was a factor, is ongoing, Frishkorn said. Some witness information indicates that both of those “may have been a factor,” he said.

The woman who was killed has been identified as Ashley Hernandez Gutierrez, 31, of Washington, D.C.

The children injured in the crash ranged in age from 1 to 17, police said. Six kids were treated and released, while another child was admitted in stable condition. They were sent to several area hospitals.

According to NBC Washington, several people were trapped under the man's car and a jack had to be used to free them. Family members told the news station the children are unable to sleep following the incident and have been "traumatized" by what happened.

On Sunday, the family grieved and prayed together, NBC Washington reported. They want answers about what happened. Hernandez was described by loved ones as "full of life" who visited her family in El Salvador every year.