Mother pleads for driver to surrender after fatal hit-and-run in Philadelphia's Eastwick section
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The mother of a 29-year-old woman killed in a hit-and-run crash in Southwest Philadelphia is pleading with the driver responsible to come forward.
Philadelphia police said the crash happened around 3:30 a.m. Monday on the 7200 block of Elmwood Avenue in the city's Eastwick neighborhood.
Investigators said Talyia Bernice Nesmith had just exited an Uber and was crossing Elmwood Avenue from the south side of the street to the north when she was struck by a black car traveling eastbound at a high rate of speed.
The impact threw Nesmith into a parked Nissan Altima. Police said the driver continued eastbound, striking a parked Honda Accord before fleeing without stopping.
Police are searching for a black 2020-2023 Dodge Charger Hellcat or Scat Pack Wide Body believed to have been involved in the crash.
Investigators said the vehicle may have damage to the passenger side and windshield.
Speaking to Action News on Monday, Nesmith's mother, Lakisha Smith, urged the driver to surrender.
"I just don't understand how someone felt like it was okay to hit my child and keep going," Smith said.
She described her daughter as a compassionate caregiver who dedicated herself to helping others.
"She loved to take care of elderly people and kids that had disabilities. That was her passion to do that. She was full of love, and if she loved you, she loved you with her whole heart," Smith said.
A graduate of Upper Darby High School, Nesmith lived in West Philadelphia with her family.
"I just want the person that did this to please turn themselves in," Smith said. "They took the life of a 29-year-old that had so much ahead of her."
Despite her grief, Smith said she has chosen forgiveness while continuing to ask the driver to accept responsibility.
"God tells me I need to forgive, and I forgive you, but I ask you please just to turn yourself in," she said. "It's not fair that I don't have a child that's 29 years old and her life is gone."
Michael Williams, who works at Top Taste Jamaican Restaurant near the crash scene, whose surveillance footage captured the incident, said it is hard to watch.
"Out of nowhere this car just came blazing down the street and she didn't even have time to react to it," Williams said. "It's difficult to watch."
He urged anyone who may have seen the vehicle after the crash to contact investigators.
"We know accidents happen, but there's no reason for somebody to just hit another person to death and run like that," Williams said. "I'm sure somebody saw something."
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Philadelphia Police Department's Crash Investigation Division at 215-685-3180 or submit an anonymous tip by calling 215-686-TIPS (8477).
