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Friday, May 29, 2009

Suspect surrenders after fatal hit-and-run

Daily News reporter Stephanie Farr has the latest on a hit-and-run case from earlier this month:

A North Philadelphia man has been charged with homicide by vehicle for a fatal hit and run earlier this month that killed the son of a prominent city jazz drummer.
At 1:30 a.m. today, police said Donta Johnson, 25, turned himself in at the roundhouse and claimed he was the driver of the minivan that struck Calvin Dominique Weston-Wilkerson around 2 a.m. May 7 at 9th Street and Roosevelt Boulevard.
Weston-Wilkerson, 18, was the son of city jazz drummer Calvin Weston, who has toured with such notables as Billy Martin of Medeski, Martin and Wood and played on movie soundtracks like “Get Shorty.”
Weston’s son was crossing 9th Street when a dark-colored mini van driving northbound on the boulevard struck him and failed to render aid or stop, according to police.
Weston-Wilkerson was taken to Temple University Hospital, where he was pronounced dead within 20 minutes.
The following day, police said they were called to Cottman Avenue near Crispin Street in Northeast Philadelphia, where a woman told them her 1994 green Dodge Caravan was taken without her permission. The van was recovered that day about six blocks away on Leon Street near Shelmire Avenue.
Police would not comment on Johnson’s relationship to the owner of the vehicle, but he and the owner reside at the same address.
Along with the homicide by vehicle charge, Johnson has also been charged with accidents involving death, driving without a license and related crimes.
Posted by David Gambacorta @ 6:56 PM  Permalink | 5 comments
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 8:50 PM, 05/29/2009
    AT least the young man came forward. It is a shame because two lives are ruined here.
    — PEFF
  • Comment removed.
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:21 AM, 05/30/2009
    Terrible to lose such a young person by reckless driving.
    — br567rj
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 9:21 PM, 05/31/2009
    For the cold hearted people who does not know donta,he is very sorry that this happened and it was a terrible accident.He was in distress because he had just lost his uncle who was very close to him,closer than his own father.He is very aware of how it feels to loose a close realative.He has a wife and young children of his own and loves everyone he comes in contact with because he is a true man of god.His sympothy goes out deeply to the victims' family.Everyone is so quick to bad talk him but what would you do if you were in his shoes? At least he came forward.most people would run forever but not donta.He also has a huge family that loves him very,very much.This was a accident and he did not mean to hurt anyone so please do not treat him like a criminal.He sends his love out to the victums' family but punishing him for an accident will not bring back the victum.Everyone should know that we all have an apointed time to leave this earth and if you people were a true child of GOD, then you would understand that.I pray for all of you because only GOD can judge us all.He did the right thing by turning himself in and he has JESUS on his side.
    — nakisha08
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:53 AM, 06/02/2009
    Nakisha, we don't need a sermon. If he were really sorry he would have stopped and not FLED THE SCENE. He didn't have a license -- what was he doing driving? No BS excuses will justify his actions.
    — br567rj


5 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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