Police locate car and detain person of interest in crash that killed 77-year-old in West Philadelphia hit-and-run
Dorothea Cathell, 77, was struck and killed by a black Infiniti in a hit-and-run at 54th Street and Lancaster Avenue on Friday, police said.
Philadelphia police said Monday night that they had a person of interest in custody and had located the driver’s car after a 77-year-old grandmother was fatally struck in a hit-and-run late last week in West Philadelphia.
Police said that the person of interest had surrendered and charges were pending a review by the District Attorney’s Office. The black Infiniti had been located in the area of 27th Street and Snyder Avenue, police said.
No other details about the person in custody were released.
Dorothea Cathell was walking home from the store around 5:20 p.m. Friday, toting a cart filled with Halloween decorations, when police said she was struck by a speeding driver at 54th Street and Lancaster Avenue.
The driver, a male, fled the scene with severe damage to the car’s front windshield, hood, and grill, police said. He then dropped off a female passenger at a pizza shop at 56th and Girard Avenue, before fleeing the area, police said.
Cathell was rushed to Lankenau Medical Center, but her injuries were severe. She died at the hospital shortly before 6 p.m., police said.
Cathell’s family could not be reached Monday. But her son, Ralph Cathell, told 6abc that his mother had gone to ShopRite for Halloween decorations that evening, and was walking home when she was struck.
“She was a 77-year-old mother, grandmother, community activist. A woman of God, a child of God, she helped everybody,” he said.
She was a three-time cancer survivor, mother to four, and grandmother to 20, he said.
Investigators are asking anyone with information about the crime to contact the Crash Investigation Division at 215-685-3181 Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling or texting 215-686-8477.
Staff writer Robert Moran contributed to this article.