PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Authorities are looking for two drivers in their investigation of the hit-and-run death Thursday morning of a 24-year-old woman in the city's Hunting Park neighborhood. Police say it is possible the driver who struck the woman may not even be aware of it.
It happened around 3:30 a.m. on Front Street just past Hunting Park Avenue, between the Hunting Park Post Office and Greenmount Cemetery. Police say Tahtiana Diggs was driving on Front Street with her sisters when they briefly pulled over and Diggs got out of the car, fell and was struck.
There are no surveillance cameras in the exact spot Diggs was hit, nor was there glass or debris in the road, but police believe two cars passed by around the same time based on surveillance video from nearby.
"As she fell, two vehicles were driving by, southbound, on Front Street, and Miss Diggs was struck by one of those vehicles," said Commander Mark Overwise.
"It appears there is a small SUV, either light-blue or gray, followed by a pickup truck that is light-gray, traveling southbound on Front Street at the time the crash occurred."
Police said the two women in the car with Diggs witnessed the crash and called police. Medics took Diggs to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Earlier in the day, Chief Inspector Scott Small characterized the incident as a hit-and-run, saying "the striking vehicle ... did not stop but fled the scene."
Overwise later clarified, saying police are handling the investigation as a hit and run, but given the circumstances, it's possible the striking driver was unaware of the hit. "If Miss Diggs fell and was lying, either prone or partially sat up in the roadway, it's possible the driver did not see the person before it happened. It probably happened very fast."
Detectives are working with Diggs' sisters and examining surveillance video from the area. Police are asking for witnesses, or the drivers of those cars, or anyone else with information that could assist the investigation to contact the Crash Investigation Division at 215-686-3180, or to send an anonymous tip via phone or text to 215-686-TIPS.
