Family Demands Justice After Their Son’s Fatal Hit-and-Go – NBC Washington DC (44)

The father of a Virginia man who was struck and killed by a driver in Philadelphia in October says his mission to win justice for his son has been harrowing.

“I have to walk around my house; sometimes I see my wife just crying,” said Frank Corona.

Jason Corona, 24, of Spotsylvania County, was at a bar with his sister and other family members celebrating a cousin’s return from military service in October. A man inside the bar tried to get the attention of his sister, and Corona intervened, according to authorities.

As he and his family waited for an Uber to arrive to take them home, the man continued his advances until he got into an SUV and started to drive away, police said.

The victim’s father, a homicide detective for 15 years, used artwork used in court to demonstrate how the driver turned and struck his son.

“He drove his vehicle towards my boy, and he ran over him,” Corona said. “He dragged it. He didn’t stop. He murdered him.”

Authorities said the man left while Jason Corona was dying in the bar’s parking lot.

“My wife wasn’t too far from where this happened, and when my daughter called her, she came over and held her head,” Frank Corona said.

Philadelphia police arrested and charged 22-year-old Frederick Falcon with nine counts, including third-degree murder. But in February, a judge struck out eight of the nine charges once morest him, including murder. The defense argued that Jason Corona had entered the lane and Falcon mightn’t help but hit him.

“For everything to be caught on video with witnesses – to be dismissed in the preliminary trial, it doesn’t make sense,” said Frank Corona.

The Philadelphia district attorney has re-filed the charges. Falcon is out on bail.

“We haven’t moved anything in his room,” Frank Corona said.

He said he goes into the room every day to talk to his son.

“I tell him regarding my day. I tell him I’m going to fight; I am going to fight for you,” she said. “And I also tell her that she did not die in vain and that something positive is going to come of this.”

The Philadelphia district attorney said Falcon has a trial on the refiled charges, including the murder charge, scheduled for June 22.

Falcon’s attorney declined to comment.