$110,00 Reward Offered in Carjacking That Killed 3 Children
Three adults were also injured when the carjackers crashed.
July 26, 2014— -- Philadelphia police are offering a $110,000 to anyone who can help them find two men suspected of carjacking an SUV and killing three children and injuring three adults when they crashed it.
Siblings Thomas Reed, 10, Keiearra Williams, 15, and Terrence Williams, 7, were selling fruit outside their church Friday when they were hit and killed by a white Toyota 4Runner SUV that blew a tire while making a turn at a high speed.
The children's mother was also hit in the crash and taken to a hospital in critical condition. Another woman who was hit by the SUV was also injured, and the SUV's owner, who was in the vehicle when it crashed, was also injured.
"Taking innocent people's lives. That's my son, you took him away from me. Turn yourself in, dog. Whoever y'all is, turn yourself in," the father of Thomas Reed told ABC affiliate WPVI.
The SUV crashed into the fruit stand and then crashed into a nearby grove of trees, where two suspects got out of the vehicle and fled on foot, police said.
They are still at large and police today announced a $110,000 to anyone who can help track them down.
The two suspects are described as one Hispanic male wearing a white shirt and one black male wearing a white shirt, according to WPVI.
"We have a tragedy here. We will use all the resources at our disposal to find the people responsible," Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey told WPVI.
"I've been in the homicide unit for six years and this is one of the saddest cases that I've come across," Capt. James Clark of the Philadelphia Police added. "You have three innocent children who had the rest of their lives in front of them who were taken in this fashion. It is very sad and very tragic."
An estimated 40,000 carjackings occur every year in the United States, particularly in hot spots like Northern New Jersey where proximity to ports like Newark that ship luxury vehicles overseas entice carjackers.
"The crime of carjacking has reached epidemic levels," New Jersey Acting Attorney General John Hoffman told ABC News.
One reason for the increased rate of carjacking across the country is anti-theft technology that makes it harder to steal newer cars when they are unoccupied and parked.