Philly man charged with vehicular homicide DUI in death of Wyncote Farm manager

A Philadelphia man has been charged with homicide by vehicle while driving under the influence in the November death in Montgomery County of 33-year-old Laishah “Nala Bloom” Holloman, who was the manager of a farm run by Wyncote Academy.

Shaikan Pitts, 38, who has never had a valid driver’s license, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.135%, which is above the legal limit. Cannabinoids also were found in his blood, prosecutors said.

Holloman was the manager of Wyncote Farm, an educational farm and outdoor classroom owned and operated by Wyncote Academy in Elkins Park. She was best known as Nala Bloom, a name she chose for herself because of her lifelong love of farming, said Mark Linkins, head of school at Wyncote Academy.

Shortly before 6 p.m. on Nov. 25, Cheltenham Township police responded to a two-vehicle crash at Old York Road and Spring Avenue to find Holloman trapped under her white Ford van.

Investigators determined that the van was pulling out of a private driveway when it was struck by a silver Nissan Rogue on the driver’s side door so violently the van spun and overturned, prosecutors said.

Holloman, of Elkins Park, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Pitts, the driver of the Nissan, allegedly was driving 69 mph in a 40-mph zone and did not brake or take any evasive action prior to the crash, prosecutors said.

Pitts was arrested Tuesday and charged with multiple offenses. He was being held at the Montgomery County Correctional Facility in lieu of $90,000 cash bail. A preliminary hearing for Pitts was scheduled for April 8. No lawyer was listed for Pitts in court records.

Holloman had a daughter, according to her obituary.

She joined Wyncote Farm as a volunteer in 2022 and was hired as the manager last year.

“She was unlike any other volunteer we had ever known. She was there night and day,” Linkins, the academy’s head of school, said in a phone interview.

Linkins called her “the brightest of lights” who was beloved by students, staff, and faculty. At the farm, she oversaw beekeeping and egg production, among many duties.

With several Wyncote students, she coordinated and ran weekly farmers markets in North Philadelphia and Center City, Linkins said.

She was also a key member of Wyncote Farm’s community-based maple syrup program, Linkins said. She helped to tap more than 150 maple trees in East Oak Lane, Melrose Park, Elkins Park, Jenkintown, Wyncote, and Huntingdon Valley.

In an interview last year with the Glenside Local, Holloman talked about her “journey as a farmer” and learning “how to tend to the land.”

“It’s come with a lot of responsibility, but I also feel truly grateful to be responsible for the food we’re growing and the animals we’re caring for,” she said. “I’m a student in nature who’s growing right along with them.”