9-Year-Old Boy Nearly Killed In Hit-And-Run In Northeast Philadelphia, Police Say
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A 9-year-old boy was nearly killed after police say he was the victim of a hit-and-run crash. Police say the boy was struck upon exiting a parked car shortly after 7:30 p.m. in Northeast Philadelphia on Sunday.
A family member told CBS3 that the boy was taken to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children, where he was initially placed in critical condition. He has since been upgraded to stable condition, according to police.
Police say the driver, along with friends, returned to the scene around 9 p.m., where officers questioned him.
Authorities took the driver's information and let him go. There are no charges as of yet.
When asked if there was anything they would like to say to the boy, a friend of the driver who was with him at the time told CBS3, "Be more careful."
Some neighbors tried following the driver as he fled the scene, but they ultimately lost him.
Others surrounded the boy whose body was thrown several feet after the driver plowed into him before taking off.
"The boom was so loud it sounded like two cars smashed together," neighbor Tianna Robinson said.
Neighbors described the moment when the driver crashed into the 9-year-old boy, who was stepping out of a parked black Mercedes on the 6700 block of Large Street, near the Roosevelt Boulevard.
"Family members were screaming, that gives you the chills," neighbor Tim Stephen said.
The driver who hit the boy never stopped to check on him. Instead, he sped away.
Right now, authorities aren't sure of the make or model of the car because several people reported to police seeing different vehicles leave the scene.
The boy's mother rushed to him, making sure he was still alive -- he was -- as others called 911.
Some people went after the driver, yelling at him to pull over.
"They tried to chase after. They tried to catch him, but I don't know if they caught him," neighbor Will Jefferson said. "I was trying to make sure the little one was OK."
Police and neighbors are urging drivers to slow down when traveling down Large Street.
"People treat this street like it's I-95 just because they don't see nobody outside," Robinson said. "It's an empty street, a quiet block. They think they can just speed and drive as crazy as they want to. They need to take more consideration of the speed limit."
The investigation remains ongoing.
