Loved ones are mourning Desiree Jainlett, a 50-year-old Philadelphia woman who was struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver as she crossed the street. NBC10’s Steven Fisher spoke with Jainlett’s son who had a message for the driver who left his mother to die.
Loved ones are mourning a Philadelphia woman who was left to die by a driver who fled the scene on foot after crashing into her late Friday night.
Desiree Whitehead-Jainlett, 50, had just gotten off the bus around 11:30 p.m. Friday and was crossing the street at Broad Street and Allegheny Avenue when she was struck by a Chevrolet Impala traveling southbound on Broad.
The Impala then mounted the median while Jainlett was still on the hood of the vehicle before coming to a stop in the northbound lanes of Broad Street.
Several people inside the car then fled the scene on foot, leaving Jainlett and the vehicle behind.
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Jainlett was taken to Temple University Hospital where she was pronounced dead at 5:30 a.m. on Saturday.
As police continue to search for the hit-and-run driver, loved ones of Jainlett gathered at Broad and Allegheny on Sunday to honor her life and legacy. They brought candles and stuffed animals to build a memorial where the mother and grandmother was struck.
“These people still care about my mom and my mom missing or leaving this earth now is going to hurt them just as much as it’s going to hurt me,” Jainlett’s son, Tyquan Jainlett, told NBC10.
Tyquan Jainlett said his mother was a caretaker, both by nature and profession.
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“She took care of people all her life, whether it was with words or wisdom or anything, she always tried her best,” he said.
He also had a message for the driver who left his mother to die.
“The person who did this, we know they didn’t intend to do this,” he said. “You didn’t intend to knock someone out and take someone off this earth. I know it’s going to hurt them. It’s hurting them but just turn yourself in. Let this family get closure to this hurtful thing that happened to us.”
So far this year, there have been seven reported hit-and-run crashes in Philadelphia.
