Teen Hit By Car After Leaving Severn Party Dies, Search For Suspect Continues
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- A hit-and-run has claimed the life of a high school senior in Anne Arundel County.
Tonight, police are following leads to find her killer as her devastated family waits for answers.
Kiersten Emily Wengert-Walko was 17, and set to graduate high school in the spring. But now her tight-knit family is planning her funeral, and seeking justice.
Wengert-Walko was hit by a car while walking to her car from a house party in Severn early Saturday morning.
That's when a silver car with tinted windows sped around the corner, hit Wengert-Walko, and took off, police say.
The vehicle was believed to be occupied by people who attended the same party Wengert-Walko was leaving.
"He by her and kept on going, and left her there in the street," says her uncle, Ben Wengert. "She was too good for that....she really was."
The high school senior spent four days at shock trauma before she passed away.
"These cases are frustrating for the public," says Anne Arundel County Police spokesman Lt. Ryan Frasure. "But we have a 17-year-old girl that lost her life and it gets handled like a homicide."
On the stretch of WB&A Road where the crash happened, there is virtually no shoulder. And police believe Wengert-Walko was partially in the roadway when she was hit.
WJZ sat down with members of her family at their Glen Burnie home. As they looked through photos of her, they told WJZ's Devin Bartolotta that they are still in shock.
"They looked up to her as the movie star of the family," says her Uncle Ben. "She really did shine a light every time she walked into the house."
Family members are urging the driver of the car to come forward. There is a $2,000 reward being offered for information in the case. Contact 410-222-8573.
A vigil will be held for Wengert-Walko at North County High School this Saturday at 7 p.m.
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