The woman was seen saying ‘I just hit somebody’ before she cut off the livestream.
A reckless driver who hit and killed a man was reportedly filming a TikTok while behind the wheel.
Authorities continue investigating a 43-year-old woman, who goes by Tea Tyme on TikTok, who reportedly killed the man while driving through a suburb in Zion, Illinois. According to The Guardian, the alleged video shows the presumed woman driving the vehicle as listeners suddenly heard a thud. Another TikTok account released a screen recording of the supposed clip.
@live.catch.up WHOA!!! Teatyme went live Monday while driving and HIT a pedestrian?! There are more rumors but for now we are hoping it’s not true & everyone is going to be okay. GET OFF YOUR PHONES WHILE DRIVING PEOPLE!!!! #teatyme #LiveCatchUp #tiktoklive #crash ♬ original sound – Live Catch Ups
She reacted to the noise by saying “F-ck, f-ck, f-ck … I just hit somebody.”
The livestream shut down quickly after the revelation, with a child also overheard asking what happened.
First responders arrived at the Nov. 3 scene, determining it as a crash involving a pedestrian. The woman stayed at the scene to speak to the police.
The Zion police department investigations commander, Lt Paul Kehrli, told the Lake and McHenry County Scanner that drugs and alcohol were not considered factors in the crash. With this statement, many presume the distraction of cell phone usage played a role in the fatal incident.
While the woman’s exact identity and further information remain unknown, the incident has sparked conversations among those who watched the initial livestream. The TikTok users launched a Reddit thread to discuss how the woman was acting, and how her diverted attention to the livestream could have resulted in the man’s death.
One claimed she “wasn’t paying attention to the road because she was reading comments and grinning at her phone”.
The victim, 59-year-old Darren Lucas, was transported to a nearby hospital, where he was pronounced dead. A coroner confirmed he death stemmed from blunt-forced injuries sustained in the crash. His family told the Scanner that they will also pray for the driver and her emotional state after the accident.
“We … will continue to pray for what the driver must be going through,” shared Lucas’ son-in-law Chris King. “We are trying to find our ways to live, without someone we cherished so much.”
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Source: Black Enterprise
