'He Should Not Have Been Driving': Family Demands Answers After Mother, Son Struck, Killed By Car In West Oak Lane
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A family is still in shock after a beloved mother and her young son were struck and killed in West Oak Lane. They were on their way home from school when a driver hit them at 17th and Haines Streets.
A witness who saw the crash aftermath says he still has not been able to sleep. The driver stayed at the scene, but relatives say that's not enough.
Pedestrians shielding their kids, neighbors in a frenzy after a crash caught on surveillance kills a mother and her child.
"She was balling. It looked as though they were close together. He was actually holding onto her from behind. That's how they ended up," witness Terry Grant said.
The terrifying scene happened on 17th and Haines Streets just after 3:30 p.m. Wednesday afternoon in Philadelphia's West Oak Lane neighborhood.
"They told me I had to get to the Albert Einstein emergency room fast. Safe but fast," Kimberly Young-El said.
Relatives say 33-year-old Dominque Young El and her 7-year-old son, Auntione Terry, died at the hospital hours apart.
They were walking home from Ellwood Elementary after they say a bus driver shortage forced his mother to pick him up.
"They never made it home. Somebody hit them and they killed my babies," Young-El said.
According to police, a 49-year-old man was behind the wheel of a 2005 Mercury when it drifted onto the sidewalk. He reportedly suffered from a medical emergency.
"I feel like he should not have been driving at all, at all," Young-El said.
Eyewitnesses tell the family there was oxygen in his vehicle and his female passenger jumped out as it was moving.
"I thank you that you stayed there, but at the same time, how can you just walk away?" Nicole Young-El said.
So far, no arrests have been made, but this family is hoping that will soon change.
"My grandson had his whole life to live, my daughter had her whole life to live. She not even here to celebrate her 34th birthday. Her birthday is Nov. 26, 1987. I want them to remember that," Kimberly Young-El said.
The driver and passenger of the vehicle remained on the scene and went to Albert Einstein Medical Center for minor injuries. Police say this is still an active investigation.
