PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia police are looking for a hit-and-run driver who struck and killed a 14-year-old girl in West Philadelphia Thursday night.
The girl and her mother were crossing Haverford Avenue at 66th Street around 9:30 p.m. when a sedan going eastbound on Haverford Avenue struck the teen.
Police said the car was traveling at a high rate of speed.
Her mother wasn't injured, but Inspector Michael Gormley said she was traumatized.
“The mother was distraught, obviously. The daughter was knocked a significant distance and the mother had a hard time locating her,” he said. “We found the mother hysterical a few blocks away.”
The victim, Dawn Watson, was pronounced dead at the scene. She was in her first year at Cassidy Academics Plus School in Overbrook.
District spokeswoman Monique Braxton says her classmates are devastated.
"She was eager to learn. She was still exploring career options. She loved to write. She wanted to be an advocate for her family, her friends and her community. And she entered school every day with a smile,” Braxton said. Counselors were available at school Friday.
Police are looking for a dark-colored — possibly charcoal — Mercedes sedan. They did not identify a license plate number.