Local Rape Counselor Dies in Guatemala Van Crash

Hyattsville, MD — A woman preparing for her new job as a rape counselor at Prince George’s Hospital Center by taking a language immersion trip to Guatemala has died in a car crash there.

Shannon Nuth, 24, of Hyattsville was supposed to return Wednesday from a two-week program to boost her Spanish-language skills. She died in Central America on Monday when the van she was riding in flipped.

“I’m in a nightmare and it’s not happening,” her father, Joseph Nuth, of Upper Marlboro, told The Washington Post.

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Shannon took Spanish classes in high school, but wanted to strengthen her language skills to better help local rape victims.

The Marymount University graduate had just been accepted into a master’s degree program in counseling.

Cheryl Banks of the Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Center at Prince George’s Hospital Center, told WUSA that Shannon was “absolutely single-minded in her commitment to this field, and an inspiration to all of us.”

"She was going to do great things. She was going to see the world, she was going to make an impact. She’s made an impact on so many people’s lives already," said her sister, Jenny Nuth.