Tynesha McCarty-Wroten, aka Tea Tyme, has been arrested in relation to the death of Chicago man Darren Lucas. Photo / Ty Nesha
Tynesha McCarty-Wroten, aka Tea Tyme, has been arrested in relation to the death of Chicago man Darren Lucas. Photo / Ty Nesha
An Illinois woman begged her TikTok followers for money after she fatally ploughed into a local grocery store employee while streaming on the app.
Tynesha McCarty-Wroten, who goes by the name Tea Tyme on TikTok, was arrested on Tuesday after local police confirmed she was livestreaming when she hit andkilled Chicago man Darren Lucas, according to the New York Post.
The 43-year-old woman has been charged with reckless homicide in relation to the November 3 death, with an additional aggravated charge for her phone use.
Lucas was crossing the road on his way home from work when he was struck by an oncoming vehicle, a Ford Edge driven by McCarty-Wroten.
Lake & McHenry County Scanner reported that the 59-year-old later died at Vista Medical Centre from blunt-force injuries.
At the time of the crash, McCarty-Wroten called 911 and told responding officers the traffic light had been green when she passed through the intersection.
She was not charged with any offences following a clean alcohol and drug test.
Darren Lucas was tragically struck and killed in November as he walked home from his job in a local grocery store. Photo / Christopher King
Three days after the accident, the woman asked her followers to help her while she was on “mental leave” by donating to her CashApp.
“You know I don’t like asking y’all for s***, but if y’all … find it in y’all’s heart and y’all wanna support, my CashApp is right there,” she said in a video posted to TikTok.
But a screen recording that purportedly captured McCarty-Wroten’s livestream of the accident began circulating on TikTok on November 7, ABC 7 reported.
“In the days following the crash, numerous members of the public reached out to Zion Investigators to inform them of a TikTok video that allegedly showed Ms McCarty-Wroten livestreaming herself driving at the time of the crash,” Zion police confirmed in a statement.
Investigators quickly confirmed the authenticity of the clip and pulled surveillance footage that showed the traffic light was red at the time of the collision.
“The video was preserved and verified through extensive investigation, including the execution of multiple search warrants and analysis of electronic data.”
In the video, McCarty-Wroten can reportedly be heard saying “I just hit somebody” before she abruptly ends the stream.
A GoFundMe for Lucas’s widow has been started by their son-in-law Christopher King, who wrote that the family were “devastated” by the loss of their “1 in a billion” patriarch.
“I know he would really want his everything to not have to worry so much about the future, especially without him by her side.”
Almost US$4000 ($6860) has been raised already.
King told the Guardian “the family and myself are glad to see the wheels of justice moving” in relation to McCarty-Wroten‘s arrest.
