This article was originally published in The Notebook. In August 2020, The Notebook became Chalkbeat Philadelphia.
Emotions flared outside a Philadelphia courthouse Tuesday in the case of a fatal hit and run — with the family members of both the victim and the accused confronting each other in the street.
Jovan Weaver, the former principal of Philadelphia’s Mastery Charter School at John Wister Elementary in Germantown, waived a preliminary hearing in a case charging him with vehicular homicide and evidence tampering. The case will now proceed to trial, with arraignment set for July 9, 2019.
If convicted Weaver, 37, faces up to 19 years in prison.
Prosecutors allege that Weaver was driving a red Lexus when he struck Anthony Rodgers, 58, on December 26, 2017 at approximately 10 p.m. on City Avenue near St. Joseph’s University. According to court documents, the accident occurred as Weaver sped past a car in the right lane and hit Rodgers crossing the intersection of 54th Street.
Weaver then fled the scene without giving aid, and Rodgers, of Wynnfield, was pronounced dead at Lankenau Hospital at 10:45 p.m, according to the affidavit.
Police found an abandoned red Lexus on Courtland Street in North Philadelphia the following morning. Using video and cell phone tower records, prosecutors concluded Weaver left the car there and then returned with an accomplice in an attempt to burn the vehicle.
Following the hearing Tuesday, Weaver declined interviews with reporters, saying only, “I love my school. I love the community.”
As he left Philadelphia’s Criminal Justice Center, the scene included a gaggle of television cameras and a verbal altercation between Weaver’s mother, Robin, and members of Rodgers’ family.