October 9, 2010

Woman charged with manslaughter in Dupont Circle hit-and-run

A Montgomery County woman was charged with involuntary manslaughter Friday morning after surrendering to D.C. police in the hit-and-run death of a woman who was struck while stepping out of a parked car in Dupont Circle. Jorida Davidson, 30, had been arrested by Montgomery police and charged with driving while intoxicated about 2:30 a.m. Thursday, an hour after the accident, said Cpl. Dan Friz, a Montgomery police spokesman. The arrest took place at the high-rise apartment building where Davidson lives in the county's Chevy Chase section, five miles north of Dupont Circle.

Davidson, who was released from custody in Montgomery early Thursday, surrendered to D.C. police about 5 a.m. Friday, authorities said. She was held pending an appearance later in the day in D.C. Superior Court. The victim, Kiela M. Ryan, 24, of Howard County, was stepping out of the driver's seat of a legally parked car on Connecticut Avenue NW near N Street when she was struck by a northbound Lexus sport-utility vehicle, police said.

As the dark-colored SUV continued north on Connecticut, police said, a bicyclist got close enough to note the vehicle's Maryland tag number. The bicyclist then reported the plate number to D.C. police. The accident occurred in the 1300 block of Connecticut Avenue. Police said Ryan's car was parked at the curb along the outer, northbound lane that runs parallel to the underpass where the central lanes dip below Dupont Circle. Ryan, of the 6900 block of Knighthood Lane in Columbia, suffered "massive internal injuries.

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