Police release new video of hit-and-run driver who crashed into 3 kids, adult

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The family of three young children and an adult man injured by a hit-and-run driver are begging for justice.

Elsie Johnson says her nieces and a little boy were hurt and her boyfriend Shaheed Richberg remains in critical condition at the hospital.

"Shaheed is still in the hospital, both of his legs are broken and his hip, so he can't move at all," said Johnson.

The crash happened on September 2 around 1 p.m. after Richberg picked up the three kids, ages 1, 3, and 5, from a day care at 56th and Vine streets.

As they crossed the street, a driver behind the wheel of a pick-up truck barreled through the intersection. Richberg tried to shield the kids.

"He told me when they were crossing the street, he saw the truck coming and he knew he wasn't going to get out of the way in time so he tried to take the hit for them so they wouldn't get hurt," said Johnson.

Three-year-old Essence was coloring Tuesday on the porch of her West Philadelphia home and showed off her "boo-boo," a scar on her head.

But her sister, 5-year-old Divinity, remains unconscious in critical condition at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Essence keeps asking when her sister will wake up. Her sixth birthday is next month.

The 1-year-old boy suffered minor injuries and was treated and released.

Police released new video of the driver. Investigators say the driver left the truck at 53rd and Race streets and took off on foot after the crash.

The owner of the vehicle is cooperating but tells police the suspect - a stocky five-foot-eight man who is 50-60 years old, is a day laborer he only knows as "Dre."

The vehicle owner told police the suspect stole the vehicle while he was waiting to get his truck repaired.

Anyone with information on this case is asked to contact police at 215-686-TIPS.

Police are searching for a driver of a pickup truck after he hit three people, including two children, in West Philadelphia.