A woman had children inside her SUV when she intentionally struck and killed a mother of three in Camden, New Jersey, and then fled the scene, according to investigators.
On Sept. 25, 2024, around 3:20 p.m., officials received a 911 call reporting a woman had been struck by a grey Dodge SUV near South 7th and Tulip streets in Camden. When emergency responders arrived, they found the victim, Carla Mahan, lying in a grassy lot and the striking vehicle nowhere to be seen, investigators said.
Mahan was taken to Cooper Hospital where she was pronounced dead shortly after 4 p.m. that day.
Detectives later obtained surveillance video showing Mahan walking near the intersection of South 7th and Tulip streets around 3:10 p.m. that day. Police said the video showed Mahan approaching the passenger side of a grey Dodge Durango and then walking towards the grassy lot. The driver of the Durango – later identified as 30-year-old Ajee Williams – then intentionally drove into Mahan and then fled the scene, according to the criminal complaint.
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Police said they also obtained video footage of Williams picking up two children from school only minutes before the deadly hit-and-run. Police believe the children were inside Williams’ vehicle at the time of the crash.
Williams later surrendered to Camden County Police on Sept. 28, investigators said. She is charged with first-degree murder.
Family members described Mahan as an outgoing and funny person who was a great mother to her three children.
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“Just why? That’s the big question,” Mahan’s father, Carlos Mahan, told NBC10. “I said, ‘why ya’ll couldn’t just handle the situation better?’ That’s all I ask, every day. Just why.”
Mahan’s family plans to hold a vigil for her Friday afternoon at the scene of the deadly crash.
