A night of celebration turned into tragedy Sunday night when a Whitemarsh High School senior was killed after a hit-and-run crash outside her high school.
Police say 17-year-old Denise Cotteta was crossing a street near Plymouth Whitemarsh High School when she was struck by a driver about 11:30 p.m. Sunday in Plymouth Meeting.
The Whitemarsh High School athlete later died at a hospital.
Montgomery County District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman says Cotteta had been socializing with friends that night and may have been celebrating the school's state basketball championship before she was struck.
“She was a really nice girl,” one fellow student told NBC Philadelphia. “She was a senior, she had her whole life in front of her.”
Ferman says that the driver, who is a 19-year-old female, initially fled the scene of the accident. Police questioned the driver and she is cooperating with investigators, says Ferman.
No charges have been filed.
