Philadelphia

Mother of Philadelphia Hit-&-Run Victim Remembers ‘Good Boy,' Asks How Driver Didn't See His Bicycle

UPDATE: An arrest has been made in the fatal hit-and-run. DETAILS HERE


“Why did you hit my baby and didn’t see his (bike) in broad daylight?” asked an emotional Frederica McKee.

McKee spoke to NBC10 Tuesday morning saying her son, 17-year-old Tyrone Tillman Jr. died over the weekend after being struck by a hit-and-run driver in the city's Hunting Park section.

Tillman, a football player about to enter his senior year at Edison High School, was riding his Huffy mountain bike on the 4000 block of N 2nd street around 1:10 p.m. Sunday when a driver passing another vehicle went into the wrong lane and struck him, said investigators.

Medics rushed the cyclist to Temple University Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead a short time later.

“My baby is a good boy," said McKee, tears swelling in her eyes. Tillman was the older brother to six siblings.

McKee learned of her son's death late Monday night after being contacted by the boy's father.

"They had to fingerprint him to identify him because he didn't have an ID on him," said McKee.

After the wreck, surveillance video showed the driver -- who police have not yet identified -- stopping, getting out of her SUV and looking at Tillman before driving off. Investigators eventually caught up to her at 7th and Atlantic streets and took her in for questioning before releasing her pending further investigation. They said it appeared the woman -- considered a person of interest -- may have tried to remove her license plates.

McKee expressed frustration that the woman believed to be behind the wheel of the SUV that struck her son was let go.

"They had her and then let her go? Who does that? He's dead! Why's she not in custody?

"For her to kill him and drive off... I don't understand how she sleeps at night," said McKee.

Contact Us