PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — A judge will decide next week if a man accused of stealing a truck, hitting a family while they were crossing a street, and driving away is guilty of several charges including aggravated assault.
Andre Shuford, 55, waived his right to a jury trial and agreed to allow Judge Donna Woelpper hear his Sept. 2, 2022, hit-and-run case.
Shaheed Richburg testified that he had just picked up two nieces and a nephew from day care on that day, and he was crossing the street with them to eat at McDonald’s, when they were hit head on by a truck.
The most shocking moment of the hearing came when prosecutors played surveillance video showing the moment of impact. Family members gasped as the victims were seen rolling up onto the truck and getting tossed across the intersection.
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Richburg and his nieces Divinity and Esence McFarland, now 6 and 4, respectively, were seriously hurt. Their baby brother, in a stroller, was pushed out of the way and avoided serious injury.
Richburg said the impact broke his pelvis and both of his legs and left him with a head injury, a limp, scars, and other injuries from which he is still recovering.
Divinity’s aunt, Elsie Johnson, testified that the girl spent six months in the hospital for a traumatic brain injury, had to relearn how to talk, and will have to repeat kindergarten.
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Shuford was said to be employed as a day worker when the contractor he was working for had to take his truck into an auto shop for faulty brakes. Prosecutors said Shuford stole the truck from the shop just before hitting the family.
The defense conceded that Shuford was the driver and that the victims were seriously injured. They dispute the notion that the crash was intentional and question whether the incident constitutes an aggravated assault.
Woelpper will issue her decision on Aug. 2.
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