Philly mother dies from hit-and-run injuries as her son remains hospitalized

The North Philadelphia woman who was struck by a hit-and-run driver this week along with her 3-year-old son has died, her family said Friday.

Rebecca Malave, 37, succumbed to her injuries Thursday at Temple University Hospital, where she had been on life support since being rushed there after she and her son, Armani Negron, 3, were hit by a motorist about 8 p.m. Sunday. Armani remains in critical but stable condition at St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children.

The mother and son were struck as they walked under a bridge overpass in the 100 block of West Luzerne Street between Rising Sun Avenue and American Street, not far from their Hunting Park home.

Fourteen people have died in hit-and-run accidents this year, said Capt. Mark Overwise, commanding officer of the Accident Investigation District.

The family and police have asked the driver to surrender to police.

“Just come forward,” said Malave’s sister, Lorraine Graulau. “ … Just come forward so that we can get some justice.”

At the time of the accident, she said, her sister and nephew were walking to a nearby nail salon. In addition to her son, Malave has a 1-year-old daughter, Graulau said.

Overwise asked that anyone with information about the driver who struck Malave and her son contact police.

“We desperately need a witness to come forward,” he said Friday. “ … We need someone who is willing to search their soul to contact us.”

Police have few leads in the case, he said, noting that there is no video evidence of the crash or witnesses saw the collision, and that no parts of the striking vehicle were found at the scene.

Graulau said her sister devoted herself to her son and daughter, whose father, Orlando Negron, 37, was killed last year on the day after Thanksgiving in a crime that remains unsolved.

“Once she became a mother,” Graulau said, “she was all about her kids.”