Bryce Wolfe died after a collision involving a white SUV around 11:15 p.m., according to police.
Investigators said the SUV was heading east on Kelly Drive and attempted an illegal turn onto Reservoir Drive. Police believe the driver tried to re-enter traffic when the turn could not be completed, crossing directly into Wolfe's path.
Authorities said the driver did not stop after the crash and instead dragged Wolfe for more than a mile before he became dislodged near Fountain Green Drive. The driver then fled the scene.
Wolfe's parents, who live in Conyngham, Pennsylvania, are pleading for information.
"We were robbed of seeing our son achieve his ultimate goals in life. We were robbed. Somebody took that away from us," said Lori Wolfe. "We need help, we need help," Wolfe's mother pleaded.
Bryce's father also called on the public to come forward.
"How can anybody drag a human being underneath their car for over a mile and not stop, and then they left the scene of the accident with our son lying there to die?" said Clarence Wolfe III.
Police have not said whether city cameras captured the incident, but they believe the white SUV may have broken glass on the driver's side and damage to the driver's-side front wheel well, fender, and/or driver's-side door.
Wolfe had just completed his sophomore year at Temple University's Fox School of Business and was living in Philadelphia for a summer internship. His family said he was working two jobs to cover school and rent.
His parents learned of the crash early Thursday morning and rushed to a Philadelphia hospital, but it was too late.
"When we walked in, the sight that we saw was horrific, and we ran out of the room screaming," the parents said.
The stretch of Kelly Drive where the crash occurred has been the site of another fatal crash under similar circumstances nearly two years ago, where an Uber passenger was killed in a three-car accident.
Investigators are urging anyone with information to come forward and are asking local body shops to be on alert for a white SUV with possible driver's-side damage.
"Even if you think it's insignificant, please help us," Clarence Wolfe III said. "That's the only way we're going to get some closure to this."