Dorothea Cathell killed in Philadelphia hit & run after errant driver Michael Harper collides into her while pulling a trolley full of Halloween decorations from nearby Shoprite

A Pennsylvania grandmother was tragically killed in a fatal hit-and-run incident in Philadelphia’s Overbrook neighborhood, after being struck by an errant driver while pushing home a cart full of Halloween decorations.

Fatal crash near 54th Street and Lancaster Avenue

Police say Dorothea Cathell, 77, was struck just after 5:20 p.m. Friday while crossing an intersection near 54th Street and Lancaster Avenue. Cathell had been returning from a ShopRite run, pulling a trolley filled with Halloween decorations, when the collision occurred.

Witnesses said that the driver, later identified as Michael F. Harper, 47, allegedly hit Cathell with his black Infiniti Q50, then reversed and drove off. Authorities reported that Harper even dropped off a female passenger at a pizza shop after the crash before fleeing the scene.

Cathell was rushed to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead shortly afterward.

Dorothea Cathell killed in Philadelphia hit & run by Michael F. Harper.

Suspect turns himself in

On Monday, Harper turned himself in at the Philadelphia Police Department’s 1st District headquarters. His car — found at an auto shop with a shattered windshield and a dented hood — has since been impounded as part of the investigation.

Harper now faces multiple charges, including homicide by vehicle (DUI), homicide by vehicle, accident involving death, reckless driving, and recklessly endangering another person.

Family and community mourn loss

The tragedy has left Cathell’s family devastated.

“He took a mother, grandmother, aunt,” her son Ralph Cathell told CBS News. “Everybody in the neighborhood loved Dorothea Cathell.”

Her sister, Mary Miles, shared with NBC Philadelphia:

“She meant a lot to everybody. To the world, she was just a person, but to her family, she was the world.”

A growing roadside memorial now sits at the site of the crash, where mourners have placed flowers, candles, and Cathell’s crushed cart — a heartbreaking reminder of a beloved grandmother taken too soon.