Driver charged in Woodstock hit-and-run that killed boy

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An 83-year-old woman charged with a hit-and-run crash that killed a 6-year-old boy in Woodstock last weekend told police she thought a branch had fallen on her car, authorities said.

The McHenry County sheriff's contacted auto shops and tow companies in a plea for help locating the driver after Bryan Silva of Leland was struck while crossing a rural Woodstock street Saturday night.

Veramae C. Phillip of Woodstock turned herself in Thursday afternoon and has been charged with failure to report a fatal traffic crash and leaving the scene of a fatal traffic crash, said McHenry County Undersheriff Andrew Zinke.

"She is very distraught over it," Zinke said.

Police said Phillip was driving a white sedan with other elderly passengers in the vehicle when she struck the boy on the 4600 block of Franklinville Road. Authorities responded to the scene just after 9 p.m., and paramedics took the victim to Centegra Hospital in Woodstock, where he was pronounced dead.

Phillip was driving home in a rainstorm Saturday night when she struck the boy, Zinke said.

"They thought that a tree branch had fallen on their car," Zinke said.

Phillip never stopped her vehicle.

Zinke said someone from an auto body shop in Marengo contacted the sheriff's department, and police were able to track down the owner of the Vehicle.

Phillip posted the required 10 percent of her $50,000 bail and was released less than an hour after her arrest, according to sheriff's records.