Police charge driver who allegedly killed pedestrian while live streaming on TikTok

Local police said they have charged an Illinois driver who struck and killed a pedestrian while live streaming on TikTok.

The New York Times reports that Tynesha McCarty-Wroten, who posts on TikTok under the name Tea Tyme, has been charged by the Zion Police Department with two felonies: reckless homicide and aggravated use of a communications device resulting in death.

In a video that was re-shared by other accounts on TikTok, a woman posting under the name Tea Tyme can be seen speaking into her phone when there is a loud noise. An off-screen child asks, “What was that?” » then the woman replies: “I hit someone. »

Surveillance videos reportedly showed McCarty-Wroten’s vehicle entering the intersection while the light was still red, with investigators determining she did not appear to slow down or change course before striking Darren Lucas, who was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

McCarty-Wroten’s lawyer told the New York Times that the evidence will show that “what happened was an accident, a negligent act, but not an intentional or reckless act.”