NORRISTOWN — A Philadelphia man is facing a three-year mandatory prison term after he admitted to being the hit-and-run driver involved in a crash that killed a woman in a wheelchair on City Avenue in Lower Merion Township.
Jamal William McCullough, 38, of the 800 block of East Stafford Street, showed no emotion as he pleaded guilty in Montgomery County Court on Tuesday to a felony charge of accidents involving death in connection with the Nov. 11, 2024, pedestrian crash that killed 61-year-old Tracey Cary.
The fatal crash occurred about 2:07 a.m. in front of the Taco Bell in the unit block of West City Avenue, near Conshohocken State Road, in the Bala Cynwyd section of Lower Merion.
Under a plea agreement, McCullough faces a sentence of 3 to 6 years in state prison, the mandatory term allowable under state law for the hit-and-run charge and which was sought by prosecutors.
Judge Wendy G. Rothstein will impose the sentence during a formal sentencing hearing on Jan. 23, 2026, at which time she is expected to hear statements from Cary’s relatives as well as supporters of McCullough.
“Sir, you should be prepared to go into custody that day,” Rothstein addressed McCullough.
McCullough, who is represented by defense lawyer Michael Patrick Parkinson, remains free on bail pending the formal sentencing hearing.
McCullough pleaded guilty on the day his trial was to begin.
Jamal McCullough arrives in Montgomery County Court on Nov. 18, 2025, for his guilty plea hearing in fatal Lower Merion hit-and-run. (Photo by Carl Hessler Jr. – MediaNews Group)
The investigation determined McCullough was not at fault in the crash and that Cary was operating her wheelchair in the roadway and not in a crosswalk when she was struck. But McCullough initially stopped his vehicle and walked back to the crash site, observed Cary in the roadway and then left the scene without calling 911 or rendering aid to Cary.
Had McCullough not left the scene he might not have faced any charges, according to authorities.
“He admitted that he was in an accident that resulted in the death of Tracey Cary and instead of staying at the scene, and what is required by the Vehicle Code, he left the scene of the accident,” explained Assistant District Attorney Libby Ann Hemler.
Hemler said the mandatory three-year prison term is appropriate and should send a message to other drivers about their responsibilities during crashes.
“The important message to everyone is that even though being in an accident can be a very scary thing, the right thing to do is to stay at the scene. It’s required by law but it’s also the right thing to do,” Hemler said.
About a half dozen relatives of Cary were in court to witness McCullough’s admission.
“I miss my mom. I wish that it could have went different but I also wish that he could have said an apology just so that I could know how he felt about the situation. Right now it just seems like he has no remorse and he just looked at my mom like she was worthless,” Emmanuel Cary Blaylock, the victim’s son, said outside the courtroom after the hearing.
Other relatives of Cary said they were troubled that McCullough left the scene knowing that he struck someone and did not show any remorse.
“Tracey was well-loved in the neighborhood, in the city, everywhere, because she had a kind heart. She was a loving, giving person. That’s what hurt us so much is that (McCullough) just cast her off like she was a piece of paper, that she didn’t mean anything to anybody. That’s what we’re feeling. We’re feeling hurt that way,” said Bryan Blaylock, Cary’s brother-in-law.
The investigation began about 2:14 a.m. Nov. 11 when Lower Merion police responded to a report of a pedestrian struck by a vehicle near the Taco Bell. Arriving officers found Cary lying on her stomach unconscious and not breathing.
“Cary’s wheelchair was on scene and was heavily damaged,” Lower Merion Police officers Christopher Sheffer and John S. Iushewitz wrote in the criminal complaint.
Cary was transported to Lankenau Medical Center where she was pronounced dead at 2:52 a.m. An autopsy determined Cary suffered blunt impact injuries to her head and torso.
A witness to the crash told police that the striking vehicle was dark in color and was last seen traveling southbound on City Avenue. Vehicle parts and debris left at the scene helped police identify the striking vehicle as a Toyota Camry.
Jamal McCullough arrives in Montgomery County Court on Nov. 18, 2025, for his guilty plea hearing in fatal Lower Merion hit-and-run. (Photo by Carl Hessler Jr. – MediaNews Group)
“Relevant video was obtained from several locations, showing the collision as well as the route and actions taken by the fleeing actor following the collision,” Sheffer and Iushewitz alleged.
Video evidence depicted Cary’s wheelchair traveling southbound in the southbound curb lane of City Avenue about 2:06 a.m. when a dark sedan traveling southbound strikes her and launches her into the air. The black 2019 Toyota Camry continued southbound on City Avenue without stopping, police alleged.
Authorities alleged McCullough, according to video surveillance, later pulled into a parking lot, got out of his vehicle and walked around to the front passenger’s bumper area and observed the damage to his vehicle.
Video surveillance then depicted McCullough walking north on the sidewalk of City Avenue toward the collision scene.
“He then mills about walking back and forth, passing by Cary laying in the roadway multiple times, at times within feet of her body,” Sheffer and Iushewitz alleged, adding McCullough then walked away from the scene south on City Avenue.
McCullough returned to his vehicle and drove away. The investigation determined that after the crash McCullough drove to work at a Waste Management of Delaware Valley facility in Primos.
After the crash was reported by news outlets, McCullough allegedly told co-workers on Nov. 12 that he thought he hit a wheelchair in the road on his way to work on Nov. 11. McCullough allegedly claimed that he saw the news story about Cary’s death but that he was unaware a person was in the wheelchair when he struck it, according to court papers.
McCullough allegedly told coworkers he was going to contact a lawyer and turn himself in.
McCullough subsequently was arrested and charged. When authorities inspected the Toyota Camry they found damage on the passenger side front bumper consistent with evidence located at the scene of the fatal collision.
Other charges of tampering with physical evidence, duty to give information and render aid and failing to notify police of an accident with injury or death will be dismissed against McCullough as part of the plea agreement.