PhillyTablet Inquirer Daily News
Mobile
Home Delivery
philly.com
email
font size
comments
2
options
 
Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Hit-and-run driver leaves grandfather, 81, fighting for life

There might not have been a happier man in the city on Father’s Day than Howard Williams.
The 81-year-old went out to breakfast with his four daughters, then spent the rest of his day opening presents and laughing with his numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
“The day was going so good,” said his granddaughter, Kelly Williams. “He kept showing off a pair of shoes that one of his friends brought him from Mexico. He was so happy.”
About 9 that night, Williams went to Broad and Olney to wait for a SEPTA bus. He wanted to visit a few more relatives in North Philly before drawing a perfect Father’s Day to a close, his granddaughter said.
But police said a cruel twist of fate arrived a few minutes later in the form of a gold-colored Chevrolet sedan, which slammed into Williams when he stepped off a curb to see if his bus was nearby.
Relatives said the sedan dragged Williams for a block. The motorist sped off and left the beloved patriarch in a bloodied heap on the ground.
Williams, of 17th Street near 67th in West Oak Lane, is listed in critical condition at Albert Einstein Medical Center with numerous broken ribs and internal bleeding.
Kelly Williams said doctors had to remove her grandfather’s spleen on Monday, and also reattached his right ear, which was torn off during the violent accident.
“It’s not looking too good. He’s on a breathing machine,” she said.
“He’s a happy person who gets along well with everybody. He doesn’t deserve this.”
Detectives from the police Accident Investigation Division seized a “vehicle of interest” earlier today that was found on Fisher Avenue near Broad Street.
The vehicle was still being processed tonight. An investigator said no arrest warrants have been issued.
Tipsters can contact AID at 215-685-3180.
Williams said her grandfather is an active, outgoing man who frequently takes buses to visit his family, which includes 21 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren. “He loves to dance. If there’s a party, he’s there,” she said.
Posted by David Gambacorta @ 10:22 PM  Permalink | 2 comments
Comments   
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 12:51 PM, 06/24/2009
    It's depressing to have say it, but the sad truth is, it is too dangerous in this city at 9pm, on a Sunday, for a senior citizen to attempt to ride Septa. It's too bad his family could not sway him from that desired trip until day hours.
    — GalRand


2 comments
About The PhillyConfidential team

Dana DiFilippo has covered murder, mayhem and miscellany at the Daily News since 2000. She grew up in Delaware County and studied journalism and photography at Penn State University. E-mail tips to difilid@phillynews.com.

---

Stephanie Farr has been reporting for the Daily News since 2007, covering everything from gay porn stars who entered the burglary business to moon trees, skinheads, murders and naked bike rides. She covers crime, both in the city and suburbs, and keeps clippings of bizarre Associated Press articles. Her favorite this year was the story about the drunk in Punxsutawney who gave mouth-to-mouth resuscitation to a dead opossum. E-mail tips to farrs@phillynews.com.

---

Phillip Lucas joined the Daily News crime team in 2011. He grew up on the mean streets of Seattle and studied journalism and psychology at Howard University in Washington, D.C. Before landing in the City of Brotherly Love, Phillip was a reporter for The News Journal in Wilmington, Del. Email tips to lucasp@phillynews.com.

--

Morgan Zalot is the newest crime reporter at the Daily News, starting in 2011 after interning at the paper twice as a Temple University journalism student. In her past stints at the DN, she covered just about everything, from drunken Phillies fans to a barber shop in a high school to a grisly murder-suicide. She’s a born-and-raised Philly girl who grew up in the Northeast. E-mail tips to zalotm@philly.com.

Follow on Twitter

Share your tips

To send news tips, breaking news pictures or other thoughts to the Philly Confidential team, email phillyconfidential@phillynews.com.
Advertise Here