OCEAN CITY — A Salisbury motorist who left the scene of an accident involving bodily injury after striking a 6-year-old girl now faces second-degree assault and other serious charges after the Worcester County State’s Attorney’s Office on Thursday moved the case to Circuit Court.
Jasmine Denise Shuman, 18, of Salisbury, was scheduled to appear in District Court last Thursday afternoon to face multiple traffic citations issued after the accident on June 1 when she allegedly struck a 6-year-old girl in a crosswalk at 19th Street and Baltimore Ave.
However, the Worcester County State’s Attorney’s Office on Thursday filed criminal information on Shuman, essentially charging her now with second-degree assault and six other counts including leaving the scene of an accident involving bodily injury. The state’s attorney’s filings on Thursday moved the case against Shuman from District Court to the Worcester County Circuit Court and arraignment has been set for Aug. 14 with a tentative trial date laid in for Nov. 6.
Around 1:45 p.m. on June 1, Ocean City Police and EMS responded for a report of a child struck by a vehicle. OCPD officers arrived on the scene and determined 6-year-old Jaclyn Shaw and her mother, Erin Shaw, were attempting to cross Baltimore Ave. from east to west in a crosswalk when the child was struck by a vehicle traveling southbound.
Shuman initially stopped after the collision, but then fled the scene. Shuman later told police she stopped and intended to stay, but panicked when a crowd gathered at the scene. Shuman was located a short time later by an OCPD foot officer as she was about to head west in her vehicle across the Route 50 bridge at North Division Street.
Jacyln Shaw was treated at the scene by Ocean City EMS and was later flown by Maryland State Police helicopter to the University of Maryland Medical Center for Shock Trauma for extensive treatment.
Meanwhile, Shuman was initially arrested and charged with failure to immediately stop at the scene of an accident involving bodily injury, failure to immediately return and remain at the scene of an accident involving bodily injury, failure of a driver involved in a bodily injury accident to furnish ID and license and failure of a vehicle driver to report bodily injury to nearest police.