Investigators say the 23-year-old drove onto a sidewalk after a dispute and hit the man from behind.
UPPER DARBY, PA — Police are searching for a woman accused of intentionally hitting her boyfriend with a car during a New Year’s Eve argument outside a business along West Chester Pike, then driving away as witnesses shouted and ran to help.
Authorities identified the suspect as Destenee Green, 23, and say she is wanted on attempted murder and related counts. The incident remains under investigation two days later, with detectives reviewing video, interviewing witnesses and processing the vehicle police say was used. The case highlights an uptick in recent domestic incidents noted by local officials and has left neighbors unsettled along the busy corridor where the confrontation began.
Police said the dispute started around 3:15 p.m. on Dec. 31 in a Taco Bell parking lot near State Road and West Chester Pike. After the argument inside a vehicle, the man got out and began walking westbound on West Chester Pike. Investigators said Green then steered a 2019 Hyundai Elantra onto the sidewalk, traveled the wrong way and struck him from behind before leaving the scene. Video obtained by news outlets shows a car hitting a man and continuing forward as he cries out, and bystanders rush toward him. The man suffered injuries but managed to get up, according to witnesses at the scene. Police later recovered the Hyundai and said pieces of the car were still scattered in the lot.
Upper Darby Police Superintendent Timothy Bernhardt said the victim was “lucky to be alive” after the collision, noting that the Elantra also crashed into a parked tow truck, which reduced the force of the impact on the man. The victim’s reported injuries included cuts to his hand and road rash on his back; his name was not released Friday. Investigators said Green fled immediately after the strike and remains at large. Police reiterated that the confrontation began as a verbal argument and escalated quickly once the man tried to walk away along the sidewalk on the heavily traveled thoroughfare.
Officials said domestic violence calls have risen in recent weeks and stressed the volatility that officers and families are seeing around holidays. Bernhardt said his department has logged more domestic cases in the past month and called it “a tough time of year,” urging people to step back from heated arguments. Twelve-year-old Musa Hussain, who was inside his father’s nearby auto shop, said he heard a crash “and I look outside and he’s on the floor,” adding that the front end of the car was destroyed. He and other witnesses told police they feared the man could have been killed if the tow truck had not been in the car’s path.
The investigation is centered on the stretch of West Chester Pike that runs past multiple strip malls and restaurants in Upper Darby Township, Delaware County, where foot traffic mixes with a steady flow of vehicles. Detectives are analyzing store surveillance and cellphone video, mapping the path the car took across the lot and onto the sidewalk, and documenting debris patterns left by the impact with the tow truck. Police said they have identified additional witnesses who saw the argument before the strike and are working to confirm the speed of the vehicle and the precise distance the man was pushed after he was hit. Investigators have not publicly described a weapon beyond the vehicle and have not disclosed toxicology information; those details remain unknown.
As of Friday evening, authorities said Green had not been located. Once arrested, she is expected to be arraigned in Delaware County on attempted murder and aggravated assault charges, among other counts. Detectives said they will forward their case file to the district attorney for charging review and will prepare to present surveillance footage and crash documentation. Police said additional updates would be released when they are able to confirm new information. No court dates were available, and officials did not provide a timeline for when a fuller incident report could be made public.
Witness accounts painted a brief, jarring scene. “I just hear a crash,” Hussain said, recalling how he looked up to see the man on the ground. Another employee at the shop said people yelled for the driver to stop as the car moved forward. Bernhardt said his officers recovered the Elantra and have urged Green to turn herself in. Neighbors said they often cross that sidewalk to get food or run errands and were shaken to see the area roped off with debris still visible hours after the strike.
Police say the victim is recovering and cooperating with investigators. Detectives plan to release another update when significant developments occur or an arrest is made. The next expected step is the filing of an affidavit of probable cause once Green is in custody.
Author note: Last updated January 3, 2026.