Woman killed in early-morning hit-and-run in University City

A woman was killed in a hit-and-run crash early Thursday morning in University City.

Meaza Brown, 48, of South Philadelphia, was walking with coworkers when a driver in a silver Chrysler 300 with tinted windows struck and killed her at 4:17 a.m. at 33rd and Market Streets, Chief Inspector Scott Small told reporters at the scene. The woman was pronounced dead at 4:59 a.m. at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center with multiple injuries and internal bleeding.

Police later recovered the vehicle they believe struck Brown at 34th and Race Streets. No arrest was reported, and the investigation is ongoing.

Small said that the woman was hit at such a high rate of speed, “she was launched out of her sneakers.” Police say the collision propelled the woman several hundred feet down Market Street.

“The driver of the striking vehicle did not remain on scene, did not render any aid, and just fled the scene,” Small said.

The driver drove away on Market Street, heading toward 30th Street Station. No other people were hit by the car or injured, police said.

Police were able to get the Chrysler’s license plate number, and officers were sent to the home registered with the vehicle Thursday morning.

The deadly crash occurred in the heart of Drexel University’s campus, in the intersection in front of the school library and student center, and only a few blocks from 30th Street Station.

Philadelphia has experienced fewer traffic deaths in the first half of this year than in any equivalent period since 2019, according to the Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia. Fatalities have been on a downtrend for years; however, the back half of each year tends to get more deadly.

The city has recorded more than 70 fatal crashes this year, with more than a third of those killed being pedestrians.