Over 200 attend church vigil in support of boys hit by car
Laughter and music echoed last night from the second floor of Upper Darby's Christ Lutheran Church, where a family had gathered to celebrate the joy of life.
But as partygoers filed in from the chilly night, carrying balloons, presents and hot trays of food for the baby shower upstairs, 215 people sat in the church's pews, pondering how fragile life can be.
The sanctuary held local law enforcement and elected officials; teachers and students from the Upper Darby school district, and one shattered father, who hoped all the prayers and support in the church would help bring his son home again.
"Today he opened his eyes," said Demoz Beyene, whose son, Philmon, turned 13 on Thanksgiving in Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. "Tomorrow I hope my son smiles."
Philmon and his two seventh-grade classmates, Tyler Lowery, 12, and Jemel Brunswick, 13, were struck by an out-of-control motorist on Nov. 24 while walking home from Beverly Hills Middle School.
Tyler Lowery was released Saturday evening; the other boys remain at the hospital in serious condition, police said.
A Lansdowne woman, Dawn Denise Snell, told police that she was rushing to 69th Street to get her daughter on a train to Norristown when she ran a red light, swerved out of her lanes and barreled into the boys on Marshall Road with her Dodge Charger.
Upper Darby Police Superintendent Michael Chitwood said last night that he was "shocked" that the crash wasn't fatal.
"When you got to get through that red light, or drink and drive, or take drugs and drive, this is what happens," Chitwood told the audience. "It doesn't make sense to jeopardize the well-being of the community members."
Snell, being held on $1 million bail, is to appear in district court this morning for a preliminary hearing on charges of aggravated assault, reckless endangerment and motor-vehicle violations.
Chitwood said authorities are awaiting the result of toxicology tests to determine whether Snell was under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Regardless of the results, he said, the crash was not an "accident."
"I've said it all along. It was careless and reckless," he said outside the church.
Snell's mother, Mary Brand, said her daughter's mental state has "not been good" after the accident.
"She's devastated. She's just worried about the children," Brand said during a phone interview yesterday.
Louis DeVlieger, superintendent of the Upper Darby schools, said many students visited counselors at Beverly Hills, trying to make sense of the tragedy.
"These were kids who were just scooped out of a happy-go-lucky world and thrown into a world of dangers and life and death issues," he said of both the students and the victims.
Both Jemel Brunswick and Philmon Beyene had brain surgery after the accident, Chitwood said, but only Brunswick is able to speak at the moment.
Demoz Beyene said he's spent nearly every waking hour by his son's side, only leaving the hospital to attend last night's vigil.
"I hope everything will be good," he said.
"I appreciate and thank you all very much."
