Tiffany Reed’s fiancé is asking for help in apprehending the suspect who killed the woman she was going to marry in a hit-and-run early Sunday morning.
“We are all hurting,” Indiana Johnson told reporters on Jan. 14. “The family is hurting.”
Reed was rushed to nearby Albert Einstein Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead after 13 hours, with extensive injuries, according to Johnson and hospital records.
Johnson can’t believe the driver kept going after hitting her fiancée. “Why didn’t they stop is my question. Why not stop to make sure she’s okay?” Johnson asked. “We need justice. She needs justice. Her family needs justice. Everyone is hurting.”
Reed, 29, from the 2500 block of North 18th Street, was hit by car at about 3:45 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 12, at the intersection of Broad and Lehigh in North Philadelphia. She was walking home after her shift as a manager at a local fast-food restaurant, and the car sped off after hitting her.
The intersection is wide and brightly lit. Surveillance video shows the vehicle police say left the scene. According to the police investigators, the driver knew they struck someone because the driver immediately made a right onto Glenwood Avenue.
“They left her there like a piece of trash, like they ran over a paper bag and kept moving,” Gwendolyn Canty, Reed’s stepmother, told reporters. “You’re an animal. I’ll never forgive you.”
Video clearly shows the vehicle striking Reed and running her over.
Reed’s two sisters, Nyiaah Debose and Nyanna Crosby, also pleaded with the suspect to turn themselves in to police.
Lt. Gregory Brown, with the Philadelphia Police Accident Investigation Unit, echoed Canty’s comments. “This is someone’s loved one lying there and just to drive away. … But it occurs often, too often.”
According to Brown, police are seeking more video. They want to hear from anyone who might know more about the accident, including anyone who either witnessed the hit-and-run or has seen the vehicle, which would have noticeable front-end damage where Reed was struck.
Brown urged the driver to come forward, saying there is “still time to do the right thing” and turn themselves in to police.
“If [she] was your sister, aunt or even mother that this happened to, you would want someone to tell to bring closure to them,” Brown told reporters.
If you have any information on this incident, contact Philadelphia Police at 215-686-8477. Video of the incident is on YouTube, listed under the Philadelphia Police Department: Fatal Auto vs Ped 2700 N Broad St DC; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvWWZxWR3IM.