Single-car death of teenaged girl headed to prom saw tragedy turn to triumph called Rita's Closet

By Timothy Cox

for Baltimore/Westminster Patch Online

On April 2, 2012, Rita Maria Medeiros, then 16, died in a fatal one-car accident near the Royal Farms store in Gamber - just a few miles from her Westminster home, according to her mother, Tamara Medeiros.

On Tuesday, April 2, 2026, the Medeiros family sadly revisited the 14th anniversary of losing their "sweet baby girl."

Notably, Rita was returning from a trip to show her prom dress to her prom date, for the upcoming 2012 Westminster High School prom. At the time, Rita was a junior and was planning to attend the school's senior prom that year.

Through their loss, several community members and business leaders reached out to the family to provide proverbial shoulders to lean on, during their trying times.

Specifically, a local retail owner name Dawn DaMario, offered her financial assistance to startup a non-profit organization and dress shop in Rita's name. Afterall, Ms. DaMario also had a daughter of the same age, who also had similar prom plans.

Bottom line: Within a year, Rita's Closet was created in honor of the fallen teenager - and was also utilized as a vehicle to provide area promgoers with more reasonably priced prom dresses. Ms. Mederios said the dresses they sell are sold for a price-point somewhere between $15 and $50.

"Remember, not all of our dresses are pre-owned," she said. "A lot of people donate nearly new, or even brand new, never been worn merchandise. We make sure we present the best possible merchandise items that we can," she added.

Rita's Closet is located inside of the Town Mall, in Westminster - Carroll County, Maryland.

Nikki Svejda of Manchester Maryland recently brought her two daughters to the mall to shop for a prom dress for her youngest daughter, Liv Svejda. The 18-year-old plans to attend the Westminster High School prom in early May. The oldest daughter, Josephine Svejda, 19, is a freshman at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Their mother, who is proud of her Korean heritage, said she was fully aware of Rita's Closet and the sad story behind the retail dress shop.

Jaclyn "Jacie" Mathias is executive director of the Community Foundation of Carroll County, a non-profit group that helps support more than 100 scholarship funds - of which Rita's Closet is one of her supported units. Under her leadership, the foundation provides significant annual scholarships and grants throughout Carroll County.

More about Rita Maria Medeiros:

At age 3, she danced for the Ballet Slipper dance group and eventually became a student teacher. She was a member of the Westminster High School Marching Band, where she played the mellophone (trumpet) and was a section leader.

She was an accomplished French Horn player and also played string instruments including the bass, cello and clarinet. Rita was also athletic and was a member of the Lady Marauders Rugby team and an active member of Grace Fellowship Chapel youth group. She was a member of Campus Life and Youth for Christ and served on a mission trip to Jamaica.

She was accepted into the nursing program at the Career and Technology Center in Westminster and would have enrolled there in the fall of 2012.

She was an avid vocalist and dancer and enjoyed teaching everyone the "Cupid Shuffle." She enjoyed making people feel better and was known for being a good listener.

Rita was a triplet and is survived by a brother, Alexander Medeiros and a sister, Emily Medeiros both of Westminster.

Rita's Closet is located inside the TownMall of Westminster, at 400 North Center Street, Westminster, Maryland 21157. Rita's mother, Ms. Mederios and father, Jack Mederios, describes their merchandise as "gently used" prom dresses, formal and bridal wear for area brides and mothers of the bride, too.

ADULT VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO WORK AT THE SHOP

In order to maintain its professional sales environment, volunteers are needed to keep the store open. If you have four hours a month with a spirit to help others -- We NEED YOU to help with store sales, dress repairs and store organization projects. Email us at ritascloset12@gmail.com or call 443-536-9321.

Rita's Closet is open Thursday thru Saturday from 12 noon to 7 p.m. For more information, access their website at ritascloset.org or call 443-536-9321.

(About the Author: Timothy Cox is a Baltimore area resident and veteran journalist. He can be reached at teacawks2@gmail.com).