Wyncote community mourns loss of beloved farmer as DUI driver faces charges in fatal crash
WYNCOTE, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- The Wyncote farm and school community is still reeling from the loss of a beloved farmer, beekeeper and educator following a fatal crash last year.
But now the wheels of justice are turning.
Thirty-three-year-old Laishah "Nala" Halloman is remembered for sharing all the love she had to give.
"She just radiated a sense of goodness, compassion for others, the Earth and the animals that she was taking care of," said Mark Linkins, the head of Wyncote Academy.
She was a nurturer to the land at Wyncote Farms and to the children she instructed at Wyncote Academy.
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"She had a gravity and she was really fun. It's very quiet around here without her," said Wyncote Farm manager Nick Lodise.
Halloman was killed leaving the farm on November 25, 2023.
"She was pulling onto Old York Road when it happened," said Linkins.
Holloman leaves behind her young daughter.
On Tuesday, Montgomery County prosecutors charged 38-year-old Shaikan Pitts with homicide by vehicle, DUI and driving without a license and other counts.
Authorities say he was driving well over the speed limit when his car struck Holloman's vehicle, flipping her truck and claiming her life.
The arrest is a step towards justice as a community continues to remember the light gone too soon.
"She really touched a lot of lives while she was here," said Lodise.
Pitts is held on $90,000 cash bail with a preliminary hearing scheduled for April 8.
