Father remembers daughter killed in New Year's Eve Uber crash in Philadelphia: "My heart is broken"
A Delaware County father is sharing memories of his daughter, 28-year-old Kiyonna Sutton, just over a week after an Uber crash on New Year's Eve claimed her life.
"She was fun, perky, energetic, liked to laugh," Calvin Sutton, Kiyonna's father, said.
Kiyonna Sutton was a passenger in an Uber on her way to a New Year's Eve party when police say the car collided with a tractor-trailer. The crash occurred at Nedro and Ogontz avenues in the West Oak Lane neighborhood at around 10:45 p.m. She was taken to a hospital, where she died that night.
Calvin Sutton said Kiyonna, his youngest daughter, was fiercely independent.
"She obtained a house by herself. She obtained her own vehicle. She had a good job; she worked at CHOP," Calvin Sutton said.
She was also studying to become a licensed practical nurse and was set to graduate in May.
"Every test she passed, she'd call me: 'Dad, I passed my test!'" Calvin Sutton said. "I told her, 'I am very proud of you.'"
Police say the Uber driver, a 32-year-old pregnant woman, survived the crash. Calvin Sutton says he was driving home from work at the same hospital where his daughter was taken when he received a devastating phone call.
"Her mom calls me and says, 'Go to the hospital where you work. Kiyonna's there. She was in a car accident,'" Sutton said. "I just fell to pieces."
Philadelphia police have not released information about potential charges, and the investigation remains ongoing. Uber says it is cooperating with authorities.
Calvin Sutton says he has questions about the driver, including whether speed or distractions contributed to the crash.
"Was she going fast? Was she looking at her phone?" he said.
Now, Calvin Sutton is grappling with the loss of his daughter.
"I know I will never get over this," he said. "My heart is broken, and it's going to always be broken."
