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Inset left: Charles Edward Wright (Philadelphia Police Department). Inset right: Veronica Herling (Jason Lloyd Funeral Home). Background: Herling”s shoe after the crash (WPVI/YouTube).
In Pennsylvania, a man is facing accusations of a severe hit-and-run incident where he allegedly struck a woman with his SUV, propelling her 20 feet into the air and causing her shoes and jewelry to be dislodged.
Charles Edward Wright, aged 37, is confronted with multiple charges, including murder, vehicular homicide, involuntary manslaughter, and reckless endangerment. These charges are in connection with the tragic event on November 1, 2024, which resulted in the death of 43-year-old Veronica Herling, according to court documents reviewed by Law&Crime.
The hit-and-run was declared fatal by the Philadelphia Police Department, who identified Herling as the victim in a statement released the following month.
During the early hours of that late autumn day, around 2:15 a.m., a black Nissan Murano was reported to be driving on Levick Street in Philadelphia when it collided with Herling. In an effort to locate the suspect, law enforcement released a blurry image of the driver, describing him as a “Black male with a beard/mustache.”
Herling was in the process of crossing the street when she was hit by Wright’s vehicle. The impact was so intense that her sneakers were knocked off, and some of her jewelry was scattered at the scene, as per investigators’ reports to local ABC affiliate WPVI. The force of the collision propelled her approximately 20 feet into the air, and she landed nearly a block away from the point of impact.
She was pronounced dead at the scene.
The suspect in the hit-and-run on the 4800 block of Levick Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 1, 2024 (Philadelphia Police Department).
Police said the vehicle was last seen traveling south on Torresdale Avenue after turning from Levick Street. The Murano had a “temporary VA state paper tag,” officers added.
A neighbor told the Philadelphia-based outlet that drivers come off the Tacony-Palmyra Bridge about a mile away, where the speed limit is 40 mph, and “don’t slow down” as the limit changes to 25 mph.
“They keep going straight and they fly,” Chanalle Allison told WPVI. “Probably like 10 cars in one year got smacked right there at the same spot.”
Wright had a preliminary arraignment on Wednesday, and he is scheduled to reappear in court for a preliminary hearing on March 23.