Philly school worker arrested for hit-and-run that killed beloved barber

The driver wanted in connection to a hit-and-run that killed a beloved barber has been arrested and charged, police said.

According to police, 42-year-old Sharon Seawood of North Philadelphia was arrested on Monday around noon.

She has been charged with homicide by vehicle, involuntary manslaughter, tampering with evidence and other related charges.

Seawood is an employee of the Philadelphia School District, according to officials, who claim she's has been working as a special education assistant at Frankford High School since September of 2023.

District officials tell NBC10 that Seawood has not reported for work since Feb. 28.

She has been placed on leave as of today, district officials said.

Beloved barber killed

Toby Maurice Bryant, 47, of Oxford Circle, died on Feb. 27, after he was struck by a vehicle, with such force that he was knocked out of his shoes.

Officials said they believe that the driver of that vehicle was Seawood, who, they claim, initially got out of the car to look back at the man before leaving him for dead on the street.

The hit-and-run incident took place just after 11 p.m. that evening as the victim crossed at the 7900 block of Ogontz Avenue, near Cheltenham Avenue, in the East Mount Airy neighborhood.

Friends and family members told investigators that the victim works in the neighborhood and was a great barber.

He was walking from the westside of the street to the eastside when a northbound driver appearing to go "at a high rate of speed" struck him, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small has said. 

Police later said Bryant was crossing against a red light and not in the crosswalk.

The driver struck the man and dragged him about 30 to 40 feet, Small said.

A witness who is friends with the victim told investigators that he saw the driver continue about 100 to 200 feet northbound on Ogontz Avenue then stopped, Small said.

"The driver got out of the car, looked back at the victim then got back in the car and left the scene," Small said.

Friends, loved ones honor Toby Maurice Bryant

Friends described Bryant as a talented barber who was beloved by his community.

His family gathered at his longtime workplace to honor his life with a vigil and balloon release on March 1.

Bryant's brother, who asked not to share his name, told NBC10 how he felt when he learned his brother was killed.

"When I picked up the phone and heard it, I felt like I was in a dream. It didn't hit me until I got off the phone and I started reaching out to my mom and other family members," he said.

Now, in Bryant's memory, an empty barber chair at Golden Combs Barber Shop has become the physical representation of the life taken too soon by this deadly crash.

As his sisters hugged mourners during a recent memorial, candles sat outside the Golden Comb in his honor.

"A good dude man, he was my barber and everything but I’m going to miss him," Robert Elam told NBC10.

His family told NBC10 that Bryant cherished his customers and treated them like his own loved ones.