PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia police are seeking the public’s help as they renew their efforts to track down leads in the hit-and-run killing of a nun in Northeast Philly, two decades after it happened.
Last Friday, Jan. 9, marked the 20th anniversary of the killing of Sister Paul Mercedes Perreca. She was walking to Mass at St. Matthew’s Church in the Mayfair neighborhood of Northeast Philly just before 6:30 that morning. As Perreca crossed Cottman Avenue, she was hit by a vehicle making a left turn from Hawthorne Street.
Witness reports indicated the driver stopped momentarily about a block away, but then fled the scene. Authorities said no attempt was made to render aid to Perreca, who died from her injuries.
Police described the vehicle as a two-toned red Ford F-150 pickup truck with a model year between 1987 and 1989. They say it had silver running boards, the Ford name embossed on the tailgate, and an 8-foot bed with no toolbox or ladder rack at the time. According to investigators, the car left the scene with a missing or broken front driver-side amber lamp.
Authorities said even the smallest detail from the public could help break the case. That’s why they’re calling on anyone with information — especially those who lived in the area in January 2006, worked in automotive repair, or just heard something — to reach out to the Citizens Crime Commission at 215-546-8477, or the Crash Investigation Division at 215-685-3180.