Swahela Vhora Charged With Reckless Homicide; Police Say She Was On Cellphone When She Hit, Killed 4-Year-Old Violet Singleton In Harvey
HARVEY, Ill. (CBS) -- A woman has been charged with reckless homicide after police said she drove into a swing set and killed a 4-year-old girl while talking on a cellphone back in September.
On Sept. 8 of last year, Harvey police were called to a park at 71 E. 152nd St. across from Whittier Elementary School, according to Harvey Deputy Police Chief Cameron Biddings.
They found a Hyundai Elantra had jumped a curb and plowed through a fence, hitting a swing set and killing 4-year-old Violet Singleton.
Witnesses said the driver was on her phone at the time.
Illinois State Police reconstructed the accident and the FBI scoured cellphone data and received data from T-Mobile to pinpoint the location and time of the cellphone calls from the car, police said. The FBI confirmed that the phone was in use at the time of the accident, Biddings said.
Swahela Vhora now stands charged with reckless homicide. She was released this week on $30,000 bond.
Biddings said she had just picked up her children at Whittier before she jumped the curb and struck and killed Violent.
"The death of Violet Singleton, and the events of that day in September 2021, are a terrible tragedy," Biddings said in a news release. "It is a horrific reminder of what can happen when people drive distracted."