Survivor of fatal Tioga carjacking crash speaks out

TIOGA (WPVI) -- One of the women who survived the carjacking crash in Tioga that killed three children and critically injured their mother is speaking out about the ordeal.

69-year-old Thelma Brown was released from the hospital and was home Wednesday. She was back on her porch, around the corner from Germantown and Allegheny avenues, where she almost lost her life.

"I look around like that and I saw the car coming toward us, so something said 'the car is going that way, you go that way,'" she said.

Brown remembers setting up the fruit stand Friday with her neighbors from across the street: Keisha Williams and her three children.

Then she saw a white SUV coming toward them. Investigators later revealed that fleeing carjackers had lost control.

"All I could do is scream and holler, 'Help me! Help me! Help me!' But I saw those guys jump that fence and run," said Brown.

Brown also remembers seeing Williams' children - 10-year-old Thomas Reed, his brother, 7-year-old Terrence Moore, and their sister, 15-year-old Keiearra Williams - in the grass.

All three were struck and killed.

Brown, the matriarch of Hilton Street, was helping the family. A grandmother of 11, she thought of Williams' children as her own.

Keisha Williams, Brown said, "walked them to school, and she picked them up from school every day. Even when she went to the store, she had the kids with her," said Brown.

Brown, who suffered a broken leg, is thankful the suspected carjackers were caught.

Also on Wednesday night, motorcycle groups held another large vigil for the victims at the crash site before heading to Brown's home.

They filled her street in support, but it was Brown who delivered what was perhaps the most powerful message.

"God showed everyone who is rallying around there what's in store and what you can do to help yourself and other people. That's right, because I thank God that I'm still here," she said.

Keisha Williams remains in critical condition.

Brown says Williams will need a lot of help when she's released from the hospital. She plans to be right there to do just that.

The two suspects charged in the case, Jonathan Rosa, 19, and Cornelius Crawford, 22, are charged with 3 counts of murder and related offenses in the deaths of the three children. They are being held without bail.