Hit-and-run deaths in Philadelphia reached all-time high in 2022

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The number of hit-and-run deaths in Philadelphia is the highest it's ever been. There's been more than 30 fatal hit-and-runs this year, police say.

As recently as Monday, police are searching for a driver wanted in three separate hit-and-runs, including one that was deadly in North Philadelphia. 

And many cases remain unsolved. 

"I just broke down, that's my baby sister," Jackie Martinez said.   

Martinez's sister was Elizabeth Negron –  the 32-year-old was killed in a hit-and-run at Germantown Avenue near Coulter Street back in July.

The driver has still not been caught. 

"We really just want to put this to rest and everything," Martinez said.  

Data shows there have been 32 fatal hit-and-run crashes in Philly this year. That's an increase over each of the last four years and three times as many hit-and-run deaths when compared to 2019.

"There's definitely a sense of lawlessness," Sharieff Ali, of the Germantown Traffic Safety Coalition, said.  

Ali says there are likely several reasons for the uptick in hit-and-run fatalities. 

"There's a sense of a lack of care for each other," he said. "People are just behaving poorly." 

Ali's group has been placing signs like that read "Slow down Germantown" around the neighborhood. He said more drivers have been speeding since the pandemic. 

"We know that speed kills," Ali said.  

Martinez's family is still pleading for justice. 

"They're still searching for him," Martinez said. 

Petrillo: "If there was something you could tell the driver, what would you say to them?"

Martinez: "Just come forward. Because she really did not deserve to get run over like that and just left behind."

Police say without witnesses or security cameras arrests can be difficult to make. 

In:
• Philadelphia
• Hit-and-Run