3 hurt, including 2 kids, in recent surge of hit-and-runs

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- It seems like it is open season out there for hit-and-run drivers, with three incidents over the first two days of this week alone - two involving young children.

Eight-year-old Naazhim Brown is a lucky boy. He and two friends were playing in an open fire hydrant Monday afternoon at Woodstock and Diamond in North Philadelphia.

The force of the water knocked Nazzhim down and into the street. An oncoming car rolled over his legs, and then kept going.

Naazhim says, "They just kept going, and the tire went over my leg."

That happened just a block away from where 5-year-old Karly Green was run down Sunday.

She was playing on the 2200 block of Lambert Street when she was hit by a light colored SUV that just kept going. She came home from the hospital last night.

22-year-old Dominique Parker-Sims remains hospitalized after she was hit by a pickup truck Monday morning.

She was at the bus stop at 84th and Lindbergh Boulevard.

Witnesses say that driver got out of his vehicle, looked at Parker-Sims, then got back in his pickup and sped off.

Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey says hit-and-run accidents are happening at an alarming rate and fatalities are up.

"So far this year we've had seven... This time last year we only had three. So we've already equaled the total for all of 2014," Ramsey said.

Police believe they have found the SUV that hit Karly on Sunday. So far, no charges have been filed as they try to determine who was driving.

The car that hit Nazzihm was a late model black Dodge Charger with two girls inside.

And police are looking for a small green pickup truck that ran down Dominique.

All of them making things a lot worse for themselves.

Commissioner Ramsey explains, "People, for whatever reason, panic perhaps, and just leave. And that just compounds an already serious problem."

Ramsey says all kinds of accidents are trending upward thanks to texting and cell phone use. He's asking everyone to pay more attention, especially this time of year when kids are playing outside.