Traffic slowed to a crawl as dignitaries, loved ones and strangers gathered in a North Philadelphia church to remember three young children killed during a carjacking hit-and-run.
Joseph Thomas Reed, 10, his sister Keiearra Williams, 15, and brother Terrence Moore, 7, were struck and killed Friday when a carjacked SUV plowed into a fruit stand where they were volunteering on a street corner on Germantown and Allegheny Avenues.
On Monday, Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter and others gathered at the Seventh-Day Adventist Church along Oxford Street to remember the three children for a viewing followed by funeral services and internment at Fernwood Cemetery.
The mother, Keisha Williams, was critically injured while their neighbor, Thelma Brown, broke an ankle. Family members say Williams, 35, still doesn't know that her children were killed.
"There were so many questions that we have no answers to," said Cassandra Alexander, a cousin of the victims, during a rally last week. "Our tears seem to never end. Our hearts are completely broken."
"We can't believe this is our new reality," Alexander said. "A nightmare that just won't end. We just can't grasp it."
"We are humbled by all of your love and support. Please keep our family in your prayers."
The two suspects in the deadly carjacking and crash - Cornelius Crawford, 23, and Jonathan Rosa, 19 - were charged last week with second-degree murder, robbery, carjacking, sexual assault and other offenses. On Tuesday investigators revealed that Rosa's own mother brought her son back to police after they questioned and released him earlier in the weekend.
While announcing the arrest of the men, Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams also announced that NBA legend Charles Barkley offered to pay for the funeral expenses.
Philadelphia Police warned people of potential traffic troubles around the church and on the route to Fernwood Cemetery on Baltimore Avenue in Yeadon, Delaware County.
