City officials push for justice after 2 fatal hit-and-runs in Philadelphia

20-year-old Bryce Wolfe and 29-year-old Talyia Nesmith were both killed in separate hit-and-runs in Philadelphia
Updated 3 hours ago
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- There are finally some answers for a local family after weeks of heartbreak.

Police have tracked down the man they say hit a Temple student with his car and left him to die.

But another family is still looking for justice as the suspect who killed their daughter remains on the run.

20-year-old Bryce Wolfe and 29-year-old Talyia Nesmith were both killed in separate hit-and-runs in Philadelphia.



Both families say they are seeing progress made in their cases.



Court records show the district attorney has now officially charged the man arrested for a fatal hit-and-run on Kelly Drive.

A team effort between Philadelphia police and U.S. Marshals to track down 48-year-old Derek Reid, who they say was evading police for another crime - the rape of a child.

RELATED: Man arrested in deadly hit-and-run of Temple student also facing child rape charges | What we know

The U.S. Marshals Service says 48-year-old Derek Reid was taken into custody in connection with a deadly hit-and-run, as well as a child rape case.



They finally captured him while he was mowing someone's lawn yesterday in West Oak Lane.

"I want a conviction. I want him to pay. My son paid with his life," said Lori Wolfe.



Investigators say Reid struck and killed 20-year-old Bryce Wolfe, who was riding a motorcycle on Kelly Drive late last month.

The Temple University student was pinned under an SUV and dragged for a mile.

Over the past several weeks, investigators found the vehicle and discovered that Reid was also wanted in a 2011 child rape case.

"We hope that this arrest brings closure for the victim and the family," said Robert Clark, the Supervisory Deputy with the U.S. Marshal's Fugitive Task Force in Philadelphia.

"There is not a day that goes by that you don't feel the pain of the loss of your child, and you'll cry every day. It's the worst pain on the face of this Earth," said Bryce's father, Clarence Wolfe.



The family of Talyia Nesmith is also feeling pain and heartbreak.

RELATED: Mother pleads for driver to surrender after fatal hit-and-run in Philadelphia's Eastwick section

City Council President Kenyatta Johnson and other community leaders spoke with residents in the city's Eastwick section on Thursday as the push for justice continues.

"If you are speeding and you do take a life, you should be held accountable," Johnson said.

The driver of a Dodge Charger, equipped with a supercharged engine, struck the 29-year-old Monday morning along Elmwood Avenue, near 73rd Street.



Investigators say the car was reported stolen about an hour before Nesmith was killed and that police found it in Upper Darby the next day.

RELATED: Striking vehicle recovered after woman killed in Eastwick hit-and-run, Philadelphia police say

Johnson told Eastwick residents they're considering additional safety measures.

Nesmith's heartbroken family spoke with Action News earlier this week and are hoping the driver is caught.

As for the other hit-and-run on Kelly Drive, the man charged is being held on bail with a preliminary hearing scheduled in two weeks.
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