What to Know
- An 82-year-old woman walking with groceries was struck and killed while crossing Bustleton Avenue on Dec. 12
- The striking driver left the deadly crash scene, police said.
- On Friday, police announced the arrest of Romualda Gulbiniene in connection to the deadly hit-and-run.
More than a week after an 82-year-old woman who escaped communist Russia was struck and killed in Northeast Philadelphia's Bustleton neighborhood a person is in custody in connection to the deadly hit-and-run.
Romualda Gulbiniene, 67, of Richboro, Pennsylvania, was arrested Friday and has been charged with accident involving death while not properly licensed, careless driving and failure to yield to a pedestrian, Philadelphia Police Department Sgt. Eric Gripp said.
Yulia Sherman was crossing Bustleton Avenue near Hendrix Street around 6 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 12 when she was struck, officials said. The car sped off.
First responders arrived and tried to give the woman CPR, but she died a short time later.
Sherman left behind a remarkable legacy within her community. She was one of the first Eastern Europeans to open a business in the Bustleton neighborhood after she escaped communist Russia.
"She loved the Bustleton area," Sherman's son-in-law, Mark Ingerman, said Friday. "She was an amazing part of this community."
Local
Breaking news and the stories that matter to your neighborhood.
Sherman loved everything about the United States and she raised her children to be such as socially conscious as she was, Ingerman added.
Police described the hit-and-run vehicle as a dark-colored Jeep or SUV.
The woman's grocery bags and vehicle parts were found at the location.
"Just leave somebody like this... What kind of human being do you have to be?" witness Nana Kora asked.
Gulbiniene remained jailed Monday on $100,000 bail. Her attorney Lawrence Bozzelli is attempting to get bail reduced for the Lithuanian immigrant and says the deadly crash was an accident.
"It's my full understanding that this was nothing more than an accident," Bozzelli said.
