An 11-year-old boy is dead after he was hit by an SUV along a South Philadelphia street Friday afternoon, police said. The driver then fled the scene.
Julian Angelucci was riding his bicycle near 10th and Shunk streets just after 3 p.m. when he was struck by a dark colored Mazda SUV, police said.
Witnesses say the boy was dragged several feet before the driver sped away.
Angelucci was rushed to Thomas Jefferson University Hospital's trauma center where he died about 30 minutes later, police said.
Ralph Schraber ran to Angelucci's side after the crash and prayed for him to survived.
"I kneeled down and just started rubbing his back and the other gentleman was trying to talk to him," Schraber said.
"He was so young."
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Ashley Dambrosia, a neighbor, said drivers often speed through the neighborhood and at times disregard stop signs.
"People need to pay attention when they're driving. There's kids out here playing," she said.
Another neighbor, Dianne Cavaliere, was dismayed that the driver left as the boy lay dying in the street.
"It’s just so sad that someone could just do this and run away. I don’t understand why they just wouldn’t pull over," she said.
Police recovered the vehicle a short distance away. The driver, a 48-year-old woman, turned herself in at the police department's 3rd District a short time later.
She was being questioned Friday night. Charges are pending, Philadelphia police said.
"The death of any child in a hit-and-run is a horrendous and tragic event," Philadelphia District Attorney's Office spokesman Ben Waxman tweeted on Saturday. "[The office] will always aggressively pursue justice in these kinds of cases."
