Philadelphia woman arrested for December hit-and-runs, family of 22-year-old victim is ‘grateful’

Shannon Peoples-Prophet remembers fondly the time she spent with her son, Roland Darrel White, as Christmas approached last year.

One day after the holiday, White would die in a hit-and-run, one of three people struck in what police described as a driver’s chaotic spree that began in Port Richmond and ended in North Philadelphia.

Police sought the driver for months. Officials announced Thursday that 32-year-old Neera Nicolas-Hudson was arrested on charges of murder, homicide by vehicle, and related offenses.

“I’m just really grateful,” Peoples-Prophet told The Inquirer following news of the arrest.

“Why?” Peoples-Prophet said when asked what she’d want to say to Nicolas-Hudson. “Why didn’t you stop?”

Nicolas-Hudson is accused of striking White, of East Germantown, in a crosswalk at Broad Street and Leigh Avenue around 8:30 p.m. on Dec. 26.. White, 22, was taken to Temple University Hospital and pronounced dead not long after.

White died in Nicolas-Hudson’s third hit-and-run that night, police said.

Earlier that evening, police allege, she drove into three cars and a scooter on Delaware Avenue near Rivers Casino, sending the 51-year-old scooter operator to the hospital with a shattered leg.

Police allege that after fleeing that scene, Nicolas-Hudson drove toward North Philadelphia, where she hit and injured a bicyclist at Broad and Spring Garden Streets.

After striking White, Nicolas-Hudson abandoned her vehicle, police said. The 2005 silver Mustang was found heavily damaged five blocks from that scene.

White’s family pleaded for answers as police sought the driver, and grieved the loss of a father and the oldest of five children.

In White’s obituary, his loved ones described him as a quiet, fun-loving person who loved video games and was preparing to begin a job at the Philadelphia International Airport.

One of White’s sisters shared her thoughts on the arrest Thursday through a Facebook post.

“They have finally caught the woman that broke my family,” she wrote. “I feel like I can finally breath again.”