UPDATED: Fatal Crash Victim Was in National Guard; Relatives Deny Shoplifting Allegations

The woman who died Sept. 23 in a car accident in a White Marsh Mall parking lot was identified by police as Lauren Nicole Turner, a Morgan State University student who turned 22 on the day she perished.

Police said Turner was driving her blue Volkswagen Beetle at excessive speeds when she slammed into the concrete base of a light pole in the Sears department store parking lot across from IKEA.

She was ejected from her car and pronounced dead at the scene.

Turner, originally from Stafford, VA, was driving alone and had just left IKEA after being accused of shoplifting at the home furnishing store, Baltimore County police said. Police said IKEA workers recorded her name at around 11:15 a.m. for suspicion of shoplifting before letting her leave the store.

When contacted by Patch, Turner's relatives in Virginia said the Morgan State University sophomore would not have shoplifted. Her father said the family was not coping well with her death. He added that Turner, who was living in the 1100 block of Ramblewood Road in Baltimore, had been studying nutritional science at the Baltimore college.

As of 5 p.m. Thursday, shattered glass, small pieces of plastic and metal, and stained pavement remained at the accident scene. Blue paint also stained a damaged light pole. 

Police said the incident caused only minor disruptions to local traffic along Perry Hall Boulevard in Nottingham.

The crash is still under investigation by the Baltimore County Police Crash Team.