3 of 4 killed in crash involving stolen SUV fleeing attempted traffic stop were teens, police say

MITCHELLVILLE, Md. (AP) — Three teenagers were among four people killed in a fiery crash involving a stolen SUV fleeing from an attempted traffic stop in Maryland, police said on Monday.

The driver of the vehicle was identified as Marquay Swann, 14, of Lanham and two passengers were identified as Zyshaun Cuffey, 15, of Glenarden, and Serenity Sellman, 15, of Upper Marlboro, Prince George’s County Police Department said in a statement. The medical examiner’s office was still working to confirm the identity of the fourth person, police said.

According to police, officers attempted a traffic stop on a Kia Sorento with expired temporary tags on Sept. 29.

“Officers briefly attempted to pursue the Kia but lost sight of the vehicle and disengaged,” the news release said.

About four minutes later, according to an “independent witness,” police said the driver of the Kia used the shoulder of a roadway to attempt a pass, lost control and hit a tree in Mitchellville.

The Maryland attorney general’s office determined the incident did not meet the parameters of an officer-involved fatality. The crash site was over 2 miles (3 km) from the attempted traffic stop.

Investigators would later determine the vehicle involved had been taken in an armed carjacking earlier in the city of Greenbelt, police said.