Maryland woman killed when suicidal boy jumped onto car / 1 (800) 273-8255.

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Maryland woman killed when suicidal boy jumped onto car

A Maryland woman has been killed in Virginia after a 12-year-old boy threw himself off an overpass and landed on her vehicle on Saturday afternoon.

Marisa Harris, 22, of Olney, was driving under the Cedar Lane overpass on Interstate 66 when the boy - who is not being named - landed on her Ford Escape.

Harris was pronounced dead at the scene by first responders - while the boy, extraordinarily, survived, NBC Washington reported. 

The crash occurred at 4.18pm near Exit 62 in Fairfax County as Harris was driving Eastbound, according to local authorities.

It's not yet clear what compelled the boy to make the 30-foot drop.

Police are not naming the jumper as he is a child, but he was taken to Inova Fairfax Hospital and is being treated for life-threatening injuries, WTOP reported.

In the immediate aftermath of the incident, a man in Harris' front passenger seat was able to stop the car on the left shoulder.

He was uninjured, police said. It was initially reported that the jumper and Harris were both men.

It's unclear why Harris was in Virginia at the time. 

The interstate between Nutley Street and Gallows Road was closed for several hours as police worked the scene.

Between 1999 and 2015, 711 children aged 12 killed themselves in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Study and Control.

Of them, 507 were male and 204 female; the lowest rates were in 2007 and 2008, when 25 children committed suicide each year; by 2014 and 2015 that had risen to 68 and 56, respectively. 

During the same period 1,309 children aged 5-12 killed themselves in America - the equivalent of one every five days.

It's unclear how many children attempt suicide and fail, but the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention says that on average - and taking into account adult statistics - there are 25 attempts for every life lost.