Report: Car found in 7-11 hit-run case

7-11 employee Gejea Ejeta getting hit by a car in Yeadon on June 9. Ejeta survived, but was injured going through the window. The hit-run driver was still being sought on June 22, 2011.
7-11 employee Gejea Ejeta getting hit by a car in Yeadon on June 9. Ejeta survived, but was injured going through the window. The hit-run driver was still being sought on June 22, 2011.
By Peter Mucha, Inquirer Staff Writer
Posted: June 22, 2011

Yeadon police are still looking for a woman who fled a 7-11 after her car slammed an employee through the front window.

The car, a silver 2007 Dodge Caliber, was found today, according to reports.

The remarkable incident, caught on surveillance video June 9, shows the compact lurching forward, clipping a car trying to park, hopping a concrete parking stop, and knocking Gejea Ejeta through the front window of the store in the 500 block of Church Lane.

The Ethopian native, who lives in Southwest Philadelphia, survived the crash, suffering leg injuries.

A female passenger got out and nonchalantly walked away, as the driver tried to back away.

Before she could, however, a male passenger fell out of a rear door, and the car almost struck him, too, according to Det. Sgt. David Splain.

Willaisha Rankins, 32, of the Upper Darby area was the driver, police believe, of the Dodge, which has a Pennsylvania license plate number of HSY-7777.

No one in the car went to the aid of Ejeta.

The episode began when the Dodge pulled up in the front of the store, where the driver got out and greeted a man before they disappeared behind the store, Splain said.

After they reappeared and both got into the car, it backed up about two car lengths, "then all of the sudden they lunge forward at a high rate of speed," hitting Ejeta, Splain said.

"The force of the vehicle propelled him right through the front window of the store," Splain said.

The Dodge, which drove off heading north on Church Lane, was found at at 54th and Vine Streets in Philadelphia, according to 6ABC.com.

Contact staff writer Peter Mucha at 215-854-4342 or pmucha@phillynews.com.

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