Friends and family are mourning a young boy who was struck and killed in a hit-and-run crash in the Kingsessing section of the city Monday night.
The 4-year-old boy was on the 1600 block of South 57th Street at 6:30 p.m. when he was struck by a black SUV, possibly a Ford, driven by a woman, according to investigators. Police say the SUV fled the scene northbound on 57th Street after the crash.
NBC10 obtained surveillance video from a nearby Chinese restaurant of the incident. The video shows the vehicle strike the boy once, knocking him to the ground. The vehicle then continues driving, running over the child before fleeing the scene.
"It just broke my heart," said Raysa Cespezes, a witness. "Since he was so little it was very hard to watch."
The boy was taken to the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia where he was pronounced dead at 7:06 p.m. A toy that the boy was carrying at the time of the crash was found in the middle of the street.
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Police have not yet released a detailed description of the hit-and-run suspect. They continue to investigate.
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 incident occurred less than an hour before another hit-and-run in Philadelphia. In that crash a mother and her 3-year-old son were struck in the Kensington section of the city. They are both in critical condition.
If you have any information on the incident, please call Philadelphia Police.
