Three times in the last four weeks, deadly crashes in Prince George’s County have involved drivers fleeing traffic stops.

In each case, investigators say the drivers initially pulled over before taking off.

On Feb. 28 in Hyattsville, Esmeralda Montoya-Perez was killed while she waited for a bus on East West Highway in Chillum.

Seven days later on Addison Road South in Capitol Heights, three-year-old Zoey Harrison was killed while riding in the car with her mother.

And then last Friday on Martin Luther King Jr. Highway in Landover, Patrica Riddick was killed in a horrific crash while traveling through an intersection with her daughter.

So far, no one has been charged in any of the fatal crashes. State’s attorney Aisha Braveboy spoke about the crashes with reporters Monday.

“We know that these individuals did not intend to kill anyone, but when you are fleeing, when you are traveling at high rates of speed, it’s unpredictable. What happens is unpredictable.”

Braveboy said her office will make a decision on charges after the police investigations are completed.

“The police get behind you, put those things that spin red and blue, says they are taking an action to stop you, you can stop,” said Prince George’s County Police Chief Malik Aziz.

If Sen. Charles Sydnor of Baltimore County is successful with Senate Bill 292, officers would be precluded from making traffic stops for some minor infractions.

He spoke about the bill during a January hearing in Annapolis.

“They include the obstruction of vehicle registration license plates in any manner, driving without functioning headlights, brake lights or tail lights, driving without a mirror, with obstructed or damaged mirrors,” Sydnor said.

Sydnor said the bill, if passed, would reduce the racial disparity in traffic stops as well as making it safer for officers.

However, the bill was immediately lampooned by the sheriff in Harford County, who made fun of it in a video posted to social media.

So far, according to the Maryland General Assembly’s website, the bill has been referred to committee.

The Maryland Attorney General’s office will investigate the pursuits that led to those three deadly crashes to make sure the officers involved followed department policies.

The state’s attorney will determine whether the drivers face any additional charges.

It is not yet known if any of the pursuits were started based on any of the “minor infractions” listed in Sydnor’s bill.

The South Carolina Gamecocks will have their biggest test of the tournament vs Maryland.

After defeating Indiana in the round of 32, South Carolina had to wait 24 hours to see who their opponent would be in the Sweet 16. Following a 111-108 double overtime thriller victory over Alabama on Monday, Maryland emerged as the next challenger for the Gamecocks.

Down 64-55 entering the fourth quarter, Maryland had some work to do to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive. The Terrapins would go on to outscore Alabama 56-44 over the fourth quarter and overtime to advance to the Sweet 16.

The Gamecocks had a bit of a scare in round two vs the Indiana Hoosiers as they were down at half time and down by eight points at one point. However, the Terrapins will be the biggest test of the tournament so far for the Gamecocks.

Maryland took Alabama to overtime in the second round and despite a 45 point effort from Alabama’s Sarah Ashlee Barker, the Tide fell short.

The Terrapins had some big tests during their regular season, much like South Carolina did. They picked up wins against Duke, Michigan State, Iowa, Minnesota, and Ohio State, all of which were ranked teams at the time of playing them. They did however go 0-3 against top 10 teams with losses to UCLA, USC and Texas.

South Carolina and Maryland met on the court last season in a regular season game back in November of 2023. That game saw the Gamecocks dominate to the tune of a 114-76 victory. Seven Gamecocks finished in double digits on the day, with Te-Hina Paopao leading the way with 14 points.

Tip off for South Carolina’s Sweet 16 matchup against Maryland is set for 5:00 pm (ET) on ESPN.

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. (AP) — It’s a line that dates back about two decades, to Maryland’s 2006 run to the national title.

“Overtime is our time,” coach Brenda Frese said.

The Terrapins pulled off another extra-period escape Monday, outlasting Alabama 111-108 in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Sarah Te-Biasu made a tying 3-pointer late in the fourth quarter, then scored eight of her 26 points in the second OT to help fourth-seeded Maryland advance to the Sweet 16.

The Terps (25-7) advance to play top-seeded South Carolina, but to get there they had to overcome a career-high 45 points by Alabama’s Sarah Ashlee Barker — and a 17-point Crimson Tide lead in the third quarter.

“I think we put on a show for women’s basketball tonight,” Barker said. “I’m very thankful for that. I’m very grateful that I’m in this opportunity and I was able to be part of such a great game like that.”

The 2006 Terrapins went 6-0 in overtime, including wins in the regional final against Utah and the national title game against Duke. This was the first time they went to OT in the NCAA Tournament since then — and just getting to an extra session was a chore.

After coming alive offensively in the fourth, the Terps finally tied it at 80 on two free throws by Shyanne Sellers with 1:01 to play. Barker put fifth-seeded Alabama back ahead with a 3-pointer with 38.6 seconds left, and then Barker blocked a 3 by Kaylene Smikle at the other end.

But Smikle came up with the ball and threw it to Te-Biasu, whose 3 tied it with 12 seconds left. Karly Weathers missed a midrange shot for Alabama, and the Crimson Tide had to go to overtime with two of their top players — Zaay Green and Aaliyah Nye — having already fouled out.

Maryland led by three when Barker was fouled shooting a 3 with 0.7 seconds left in the first OT. She calmly swished all three attempts to tie it at 96 and send the game to a second extra session.

It was surely the game of the tournament so far, and the only time in four second-round matchups this year that a No. 4 seed was able to take advantage of home court and beat the No. 5 seed. There has never been a Sweet 16 in the women’s NCAA Tournament without at least one No. 4 seed.

It almost happened this year, but with Maryland up three in the second overtime, Diana Collins missed a 3-pointer for the Crimson Tide (24-9). The ball went out of bounds to Alabama with 1.8 seconds left, but Te-Biasu broke up the inbound pass — which was headed in Barker’s direction — to seal the game.

“It was really a fight. We went double overtime but we just kept playing for each other the whole game,” Te-Biasu said. “I know I think it was like the third and fourth quarter it was a little bit tough for us, but we never gave up and we just kept fighting. That’s all we did.”

Only three players in tournament history have scored more points in a game than Barker’s 45: Drake’s Lorri Bauman had 50 against Maryland in a 1982 regional final, Texas Tech’s Sheryl Swoopes scored 47 in the 1993 title game against Ohio State, and Stanford’s Jayne Appel had 46 in a 2009 regional final against Iowa State.

Takeaways

Alabama: The Crimson Tide came oh so close to their first Sweet 16 berth since 1998. They outscored Maryland 60-38 in the paint, repeatedly taking advantage of Maryland’s lack of rim protection.

Maryland: The Terps pushed the tempo in the fourth when they needed to, and Te-Biasu has been huge for them down the stretch this season. It was an epic 24 hours for Maryland basketball after the men’s team beat Colorado State at the buzzer Sunday night.

Going the distance

Te-Biasu played 49:40 out of a possible 50 minutes. Barker played 49:05 and Weathers played 49:53.

Key stat

Maryland was expected to have an advantage on the boards, and the Terps indeed finished with 23 offensive rebounds to Alabama’s 14.

Up next

Maryland gets another shot at South Carolina after losing to the Gamecocks in the Elite Eight two years ago.

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