Philadelphia

Girl Struck by Car in Hit-and-Run Crash in Philly

Janelle Johnson broke down in tears as she discussed a hit-and-run accident in the Kingsessing section of Philadelphia that sent her 8-year-old daughter Nyfeisah to the hospital.

"She just wants to know what happened," Johnson said. "She don't understand. She don't remember what happened." 

Nyfeisah was near her home on the 1200 block of South 52nd Street around noon on Memorial Day. As she tried to get into her family’s car which was double parked at the time she was clipped by a vehicle speeding by

Witnesses say the impact sent the girl flying 20 feet into the air and she landed on the road. The car, which witnesses believe was a newer model Grey Ford Taurus with tinted windows, fled the scene after the crash, according to police.

"Some people jumped in the car and went after him," said James Colman, a witness. "He was going so fast. He just kept going." 

Johnson told NBC10 she witnessed the entire incident and ran to her daughter moments after she was struck.

"When I got to her, her eyes were rolling in the back of her head," Johnson said. "She wasn't moving. She wasn't saying anything." 

The girl was taken to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia where she will undergo surgery on her arm.

No arrests have been made. Police continue to investigate.

The incident was the third time a child has been struck in a hit-and-run in Philadelphia since April. The drivers who struck and killed 4-year-old Latif Wilson and 2-year-old David Alicea still haven't turned themselves in. Johnson told NBC10 she's praying for a different outcome for the incident involving her daughter.

"Please, please just turn yourself in," she said. "Because I'm not going to stop until I find out who did this to my baby." 
 

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