Police said they hope a photo of a bearded man behind the wheel of an SUV heading into Philadelphia will help them track down the hit-and-run killer of a woman who was launched more than 200 feet out of her shoes.
Medics and police officers rushed to the 4800 block of Levick Street around 2:15 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 1, 2024, to find a woman with trauma throughout her body on the street, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said at the time. Medics pronounced her dead a short time later.
On Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, police shared a photo of a bearded man driving what investigators believe is a 2008 black Nissan Murano through a bridge toll entering Philadelphia before the crash nearly two months earlier.
The SUV had a temporary Virginia paper tag on it, police said.
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Police hoped to track down the driver in "reference to a fatal hit & run crash involving a pedestrian that occurred on the 4800 block of Levick Street."
A witness in another vehicle on the morning of the deadly crash told investigators they saw a dark-colored SUV speeding westbound "at a very high rate of speed" down Levick Street as it slammed into the woman -- who police have not yet identified -- as she crossed Levick Street at Edmund Street, Small said.
"Her body was clearly launched a distance of about 200 feet in a westbound direction," Small said. "She was hit with such force that she was knocked out of both of her sneakers."
Neighbors on Levick Street said they were startled by the sound. Kate Simpkes told NBC10 that she ran out of her front door to see what was going on and was met with a tragic scene.
"I went up and I seen them like covering her and it was horrible. She was all scrunched up," Simpkes said. "Was horrible."
Broken vehicle parts and pieces could be seen marked on the street after the crash.
Police found video from a nearby home that showed the aftermath of impact with the SUV moving fast and the woman's body coming to rest on the ground, Small said. The driver fled south on Torresdale Avenue.
Investigators asked anyone with information is asked to call the police Crash Investigation Division at 215-685-3181. Police said people can also call the tip line at 215-686-8477 or submit info online.
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