A Paint Branch High School student and her mother were killed in a Charles County crash Saturday.
Halimatou Diallo, a 15-year-old rising junior, was a passenger in a vehicle rear-ended on Crain Highway in Bel Alton, according to Maryland State Police.
Diallo and her mother, Fatoumata Binta Diakite, who was also a passenger in the vehicle, were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, Houssaintou Boiro, of Hyattsville, was taken to an area hospital with injuries. State police did indicate the severity of her injuries.
The driver of the other vehicle, 31-year-old Florida resident Pedro Garcia, was not injured.
Funeral services for Diallo and Diakite, of Silver Spring, are scheduled for Friday at the Muslim Community Center in Silver Spring, according to an online fundraiser. The fundraiser had raised nearly $33,000 for funeral expenses and to support the family as of Thursday afternoon.
In a letter to families, Paint Branch High School Principal Myriam Yarbrough wrote that Diallo was “a dedicated Panther who was well liked and respected by our school community.”
Diallo was a member of the school’s track team, Yarbrough wrote.
In a Twitter post on Sunday, Paint Branch’s track and cross-country account posted a photo collage of Diallo participating in track events.
“Our beautiful angel Halimatou, your memory will forever live on!” the post said. “Our hearts are completely broken right now, the pain is real. We love you so much & already miss you terribly.”
On behalf of the PB Track family, I express my deepest condolences to the Diallo family! Our beautiful angel Halimatou, your memory will forever live on! Our hearts are completely broken right now, the pain is real. We love you so much & already miss you terribly. #rip pic.twitter.com/RkLLi6SDUN
— PBHS XC & Track (@PBHS_Track) July 29, 2019
Caitlynn Peetz can be reached at caitlynn.peetz@moco360.media
