Woman charged with attempted murder in Tioga-Nicetown hit-and-run

TIOGA-NICETOWN (WPVI) -- Police have charged a woman with attempted murder in a hit-and-run accident in the Tioga-Nicetown section of Philadelphia.

29-year-old Precious Richardson Coleman has been charged with 2 counts of Attempted Murder and related offenses.

Bail was set at $750,000.

The incident occurred around 2:05 p.m. Friday on the 4400 block of North 17th Street.

Officers were flagged down by witnesses who stated that the suspect had used her vehicle to run over two people.

Police say one victim, identified by family members as 24-year-old Beatrice Spence, affectionately known as 'DeeDee,' was involved in a dispute with Coleman over a man.

According to a witness, Spence was on the porch when she saw Coleman speeding down the street.

That's when she ran off the porch to meet Coleman on the street.

A 37-year-old male, identified as Spence's uncle, then ran after Spence to stop her from running to meet the suspect.

Police say Coleman then hopped the curb and struck both victims.

The uncle was thrown and Spence was pinned against the porch.

Coleman then backed up and fled the scene.

"The last thing I saw was her coming 100 mph - I'm telling everyone, 'Move! Move! Move!'" the uncle said.

Spence's mother, who was cooking dinner, left the house and stayed by her daughter's side in the ambulance.

Witnesses say she, however, left the oven unattended too long and the house caught fire.

Fire rescue was called to the scene and put out the fire.

Spence was hospitalized in critical condition and had to undergo surgery where doctors were forced to amputate one her legs.

"She just keeps saying, 'She ran me over Mom and took my leg Mom and I wasn't even going with him. Ain't nobody going to want me now because I have one leg,'" said the victim's mother Danika Spence.

The uncle suffered scrapes and bruising.

At approximately 1:20 a.m. Saturday, officers recovered Coleman's 2004 white Dodge Durango, which had heavy front passenger side damage, in the rear alley of the 6000 block of N Marvine Street.

At around 11:00 a.m. Saturday, officers arrested Coleman outside of her home on the 2800 block of Van Pelt Street.

Relatives also say just hours before the hit-and-run, they believe the Coleman threw a brick at their home. A police report was filed in that incident.

Family members displaced by the fire say they are receiving assistance from the Red Cross and other relatives.