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A candlelight vigil is scheduled at Granny Road Park tonight in honor of the 13-year-old William Floyd student struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver Wednesday evening as he walked along Granny Road in Coram with his sister.
The 7 p.m. ceremony for Tyler Phillips — an eighth grader at William Paca Middle School in Mastic Beach who had celebrated his 13th birthday on Tuesday — will begin at 7 p.m. inside the park, located on Granny Road, along a border of Gordon Heights and Yaphank. Additionally, a GoFundMe fundraiser has been established in an effort to help the teen’s mother with funeral and burial expenses.
On Thursday, the school district announced that Phillips and his sister Krystal Randolph, who turned 14 today and is also in eighth grade at William Paca, were struck by a car in a hit-and-run incident. Authorities have said the driver left the scene. The children had resided in Medford with their mother.
In its statement, the district said they received word from Phillips’s mother that the young boy suffered severe injuries and died Thursday morning at Stony Brook University Hospital.
Phillips reportedly pushed his sister out of the way and due to his heroism, Randolph sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
“While we are thankful that Krystal is expected to survive, we are heartbroken to learn of Tyler’s passing,” the school district said.
According to reports, the Suffolk County Major Case Unit detectives said they believe the vehicle that struck and killed Phillips was a light grey Chevrolet Equinox, with the model year landing between 2005-2009.
Grief and crisis counselors are available for William Paca students and any student across the district who has been affected by this tragedy.
Police asked that individuals with information related to the hit-and-run contact the Suffolk County Police Department’s Major Case Unit detectives at 631.852.6555 or Crime Stoppers at 1.800.220.TIPS.
Top photo: 13-year-old Tyler Phillips. (Source: Facebook)
