Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Nutter Offers $20K for Driver Who Killed 4-Year-Old and Fled

UPDATE: Police recovered the hit-and-run vehicle and say the driver is expected to turn herself in on Wednesday. NEW DETAILS HERE.


Police and city officials are hoping a large reward will lead to information on the woman who ran over 4-year-old Abdul Wilson with her SUV, killing the boy before speeding away from the crash scene.

Mayor Nutter announced the $20,000 reward Tuesday morning as Philadelphia Police Captain John Wilczynski released details on the woman they say was behind the wheel of the black Ford Edge that struck Abdul Monday night near 57th Street and Florence Avenue.

"I'm confident that the person that hit that child knew they hit the child," said Capt. Wilczynski, who added the SUV has a chrome front.

Surveillance video showed Abdul walking between two cars when he was hit and knocked to the ground, and then run over, police said. 

"It just broke my heart," said Raysa Cespezes, a witness. "Since he was so little it was very hard to watch." 

The driver, who police describe as a woman, then fled south on 57th Street

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Abdul was taken to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, where he was pronounced dead at 7:06 p.m. A toy that he was carrying at the time of the crash was found in the middle of the street.

The boy's mother came to the scene minutes after the accident.

"She was just crying for the baby," Cespezes said. "It was horrible. Something I would never want anybody to go through."

The $20,000 reward was offered for anyone with information leading to the arrest and conviction of the driver.

If you have information on the deadly hit-and-run, you're asked to call Philadelphia Police.

The incident occurred less than an hour before another hit-and-run in Philadelphia. In that crash a mother and her 2-year-old son were struck in the Kensington section of the city. They are both in critical condition. 

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