Woman fatally struck in hit-and-run crash in Northeast Philadelphia
Police are looking for a driver who they say struck a woman in Northeast Philadelphia and left her on the street to die Thursday night.
Officers were called to the 2800 block of Cottman Avenue just before 11:30 p.m. Thursday for a report that a vehicle had hit a woman and left the scene. Police said a dark-colored SUV was traveling eastbound on the 2800 block of Cottman Avenue when a woman was attempting to cross the street from the north to the south side.
According to police, the SUV struck the woman and dragged her. The driver then fled the scene.
Later Friday afternoon, police released photos of the SUV wanted in connection with the hit-and-run.
When first responders arrived, they found the woman unconscious on Cottman Avenue, near Brous Avenue. She was taken to the hospital with severe injuries to her head and torso. She was pronounced dead about an hour later.
As Philadelphia police collected evidence at the scene Friday morning, they spotted a shoe they believe belonged to the woman about 200 feet from the crash scene. Police said it may indicate how fast the car was traveling at the time of the crash.
"The distance between where we found the sneaker and where we actually found the female lying is a distance of about 200 feet, so there is a possibility that speed was a factor, but we're not certain at this time," Philadelphia police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
Police have yet to identify the woman.
Small said crash investigators are speaking with someone who witnessed the crash and will be visiting businesses with security cameras that may have recorded the crash.
Judy Ostroy says she drives for DoorDash and described the area of Cottman Avenue as a danger zone. She said speeding and reckless drivers are a huge problem.
"I see it all the time," Ostroy said. "They don't pay attention to lights, stop signs.
Another woman who lives in the area agrees, saying Philadelphia needs to do something to get people to slow down.
"They don't care about pedestrians," Tishea McLain said. "That's nothing to them. You either move or you are going to be flying in the air."
People in the neighborhood said speed cameras along this stretch of Cottman could go a long way, but right now, they want to focus on finding the driver involved in the hit-and-run.
