Boys remember grandmother's final moments in West Philadelphia hit-and-run

WEST PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Catherine Brown's family and friends retraced her final moments along 57th Street and Girard Avenue in West Philadelphia Tuesday night.

They chanted, "Stand up. Speak up," pleading for the public's help in finding the driver of a white van responsible for running her down and leaving her to die on the street.

Brown, 48, was crossing the busy intersection with her young grandchildren when she was hit and dragged down the block.

Action News spoke to two of the grandchildren, Mekhi Roseborough and Avieon Smith.

"When we saw the car, we all yelled 'Grandma,' and we kept saying it and that's when the car hit her," Roseborough said.

"Grandma told us she loved us before she got hit, because she knew she was going to hit," grandson Avieon Smith said.

Witnesses say the driver was trying to run a light.

Brown was carrying a 3-year-old relative when she was hit. The toddler is now recovering in a wheelchair.

City officials say this exposes a deadlier problem at the intersection.

"Over the last six months this has been a highway of death," City Councilman Curtis Jones said. "What we have to do is try to put police officers here to try to calm it down, and when they apprehend someone doing something wrong, ratchet up the fines and the penalties."

For many of these young kids, this accident was their last moment with their grandmother.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Philadelphia police.