NORRISTOWN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — A 43-year-old Philadelphia man on Thursday was sentenced to more than 45 years in state prison for a 30-mile hit-and-run rampage from Center City to Collegeville, which killed one person and left another seriously injured.
A Montgomery County judge sentenced Kareem Welton to 45 ½ to 91 years in state prison after he pleaded guilty in October 2023 to several charges, including third-degree murder, aggravated assault, car theft and attempted murder.
Around 11 p.m. on July 27, 2021, police said, Welton stole a dog and a car near his home in Point Breeze. At 2 a.m., he drove onto the sidewalk near 15th and South streets and hit a woman who was walking home from work. He did a U-turn and ran over her again, then got out and stole her chef's jacket.
He stole another car near Rittenhouse Square at 4:40 a.m. Almost an hour later, he intentionally crossed into the oncoming lane and hit a bicyclist in Manayunk. Around 6 a.m., he again crossed into the oncoming lane and hit a jogger in Collegeville.
Welton left the car running at a gas station in Trappe. He got out with the stolen dog and tried to steal a bike before police caught up to him and ended the hours-long crime spree.
"He didn't do this crime out of the hardness of heart, out of an intent to hurt anybody," said Greg Nestor, Welton's lawyer. "This was the product of addiction, it was the product of mental health. And for those reasons, we were hoping for a lower number than this."
According to court records, Welton was under the influence of PCP and THC. Psychologist Dr. Susan Campling, who testified for the defense, said Welton turned to drugs as a teenager. In her opinion, she said he used PCP to self-medicate symptoms from schizoaffective disorder and past trauma.
Montgomery County Judge William Carpenter, however, said Welton intended to hurt and kill many innocent people with no justification. Prosecutor Kathleen McLaughlin called his actions a seven-hour, 11-minute "reign of terror" that included "theft of vehicles, theft of bicycles, theft of a dog, and 12 victims in total, where six of them had been plowed down" by Welton.
"There was no belief that there was possibility for rehabilitation," she said. "So that's why we argued that he would be a danger to the community if he ever got out."
The defendant's brother, Jerome Welton, said he and his family tried to get him help hours before the rampage at an area hospital, but they were kicked out of an emergency room waiting area and unable to get paperwork for an involuntary commitment.
"Kareem was a good person," Jerome Welton said. "We wish we could take that night back. But we went to Jefferson — they didn't commit him. We tried our best and then … Philadelphia failed us."
Asked if he had anything to say to his victims as he was led from the courtroom, Kareem Welton quietly said, "I'm sorry."
