A Penn employee was killed in a hit-and-run at the intersection of 33rd and Market streets Thursday morning.
According to the Philadelphia Police Department, Meaza Brown, 48, was struck and killed by a vehicle that fled the scene at 4:17 a.m. on Nov. 20. Brown — who worked as a custodian in Penn's Housekeeping division — was walking to work when the incident occurred.
“This is deeply sad, and we are supportive of her family and colleagues as they try to manage through this tragic event,” a Penn spokesperson wrote in a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian.
A request for comment was left with Penn's Division of Public Safety.
Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told reporters at the scene of the incident that "the driver of the striking vehicle did not remain on scene, did not render any aid, and just fled."
A Philadelphia Police spokesperson described the vehicle as a silver Chrysler 300 with tinted windows in a statement to the DP. The vehicle was traveling eastbound on Market Street at a high rate of speed when it “disregarded a steady red light and struck a pedestrian who was crossing within the crosswalk.”
Three of Brown’s co-workers were crossing alongside her when the impact occurred, according to the police. Philadelphia Police wrote that no other people were hit by the car or injured.
Philadelphia Fire Department medics transported Brown to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where she was identified with multiple injuries and internal bleeding. Brown was pronounced dead at 4:59 a.m. on Nov. 20.
Police believe the vehicle that struck Brown was later recovered at 34th and Race streets. The driver, however, has not been located.
As of 6:20 p.m. on Thursday, no arrests have been made, but the Philadelphia Police Crash Investigation Division has opened an investigation.
