Charles Barkley, former NBA star with the Philadelphia 76ers, has offered to pay for the funerals of three kids killed in a horrific accident after a carjacking in the city last week.
Barkley, known more today for his outspoken NBA color commentary on TNT, reached out to Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams about lending a hand in the tragedy, Williams told a news conference this week,
according to KYW-TV.
The three children, Keiearra Williams, 15; Joseph Reed, 10; and Terrence Moore, 7, were killed and their mother Keisha Williams, 34, critically injured when a stolen SUV, which was carjacked moments earlier, lost control and slammed into them at a street corner on July 25.
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The four had been working at a makeshift fruit stand raising money for their church when the incident happened.
"All Philadelphians have been moved to tears by this crime," Williams told the news conference on Monday. "I received a telephone call from Sixers legend Charles Barkley. Like most Philadelphians, many Americans and people across the world, he wanted me to know that he wanted to pay for the funeral for these three children and I put him in touch with the family so he can do that."
Barkley told WCAU-TV on Tuesday that he plans on following up on his pledge, but did not want to make a public statement because he thought it would take the focus off of the children who died.
Authorities announced Monday that they have charged Cornelius Crawford, 23, and Jonathan Rosa, 19 with second-degree murder, robbery, carjacking, sexual assault and other counts in connection with the carjacking and accident,
according to Fox News.
The men are accused of stealing the vehicle from a real estate agent and, with the woman still inside the vehicle, lost control before barreling into the corner fruit stand.
"I've been in the homicide unit for six years and this is one of the saddest cases I've come across," Homicide Captain James Clark said in a press conference Sunday. "You have three innocent children who had the rest of their lives in front of them that were taken in this fashion. It's very sad."
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