Community remembers Ny'Leek Ellison, Chester boy paralyzed in 2025 hit-and-run, after his death
His story captured the hearts of many people in Chester, and Saturday night, days after 9-year-old Ny'Leek Ellison died, dozens of community members stood united to remember him.
They sang, prayed and mourned together.
"I thought I had it, I thought I was going to see my baby walk again," said Anita Carrington, Ny'Leek's mother.
Carrington said she is numb but finds some comfort knowing her little boy is now reunited with his dog, Adonus, who died a week earlier.
Carrington said Ny'Leek died of cardiac arrest Thursday, a little more than a year after surviving a hit-and-run that left him paralyzed from the neck down.
"Everything I worked so hard for when he was a baby, to make his life good, Caleb Campbell reversed it because he couldn't wait one second, he couldn't wait one second," Carrington said.
Police say Caleb Campbell crashed into the boy as he was getting off a SEPTA bus at 9th and Tilghman streets in February 2025. Campbell left the scene but was later arrested.
Last month, Campbell was sentenced to 1.5 to three years in prison for aggravated assault. Carrington said at the time that she was disappointed and angry with the sentence.
Now, Chester City Councilman Fred Green said he is pushing for police to bring new charges after Ny'Leek's death.
"I believe that justice wasn't served in the first trial, but it's my hope that justice will be served in the second trial," Green said.
CBS News Philadelphia asked the Delaware County District Attorney's office if the charges against the driver will be upgraded; an official said that is under investigation.
After Ny'Leek spent five months in the hospital, community members helped welcome him home last summer.
A city filled with joy and hope at the time is now grieving, but community members are holding one another tight. Family, friends and neighbors gathered Saturday evening for a vigil near the place where Ny'Leek was hit. They released balloons into the air and celebrated the memory of the child, who many now call the city's superhero.
"He brought unity to the city of Chester. He helped a lot of grieving mothers, and just to be able to be in his presence, it was a blessing," said Tanisha Palmer.
"I'm lucky, I'm lucky to be his father," Micah Ellison said. "That was the best nine years of my life, I don't think it will get no better than that."
Ny'Leek's funeral is set to take place on April 11 at St. Luke's Church in Chester.