Victim of car assault in West Philly

Lee Thompson is a circus artist, motorcyclist, and beloved member of the West Philadelphia community for over a decade. On Thursday 9/8/22, her purse was stolen as she sat at a sidewalk cafe in West Philly. The thief then got into a car which hit Lee, running her over and fleeing the scene. Lee is lucky to be alive-- she is already starting her recovery and can walk short distances on her own again. She currently faces emergency hospital bills, unpaid time off work, replacing her stolen belongings, and the costs associated with beginning her physical and mental recovery. (Not having received her official hospital bills yet, this fundraising goal is an estimate.)

Your donations here (or via Venmo at @Leeann-Thompson, last 4 digits 0269) are so greatly appreciated as Lee recovers with the support of her community.

Lee shares her story-- warning for detailed description of assault and injury:

I was sitting outside with my partner having a date at Clarkville around 6pm Thursday, celebrating having stopped my motorcycle from being stolen earlier that morning. Someone walked up and quickly took my bag that was resting on the table and started running down 43rd Street away from Baltimore Ave. I started running after them, and my partner followed. Soon after that, a grey new-looking SUV pulled up to the corner of 43rd and Larchwood Ave. The thief got into the back seat, and the SUV started to go left down 43rd away from Baltimore.

I thought that if I stood in front of the car they would stop, but they didn't. They kept moving very slowly for a moment, and then went really fast. I was on the hood for a few seconds, then on the ground. I watched as the tires rolled over both of my knees. And they sped away down 43rd. My partner had also been trying to stop the SUV. He got a deep laceration on his hand from the passenger door handle as the SUV drove away.

He saw the whole thing, and was yelling for someone to call an ambulance. I said I couldn't afford it, but it was out of my hands at that point. I was in the fetal position in the middle of 43rd Street holding my knees. I knew adrenaline was the only thing keeping me lucid from the pain. Andrew tried to comfort me, but he dripped blood on me from the deep cut on his hand. He had hit his head as well when he fell, but I didn't know that until later, when they were talking in the ambulance.

It being dinner time in West Philly, a bunch of folks saw what happened, and a really sweet nurse and a few others checked on me. She held my head in her lap until the ambulance got there. I'm immensely, truly, grateful for her kindness. I remember asking everyone around me who was helping for their names, that I knew I wouldn't remember, and just thanking them as best I could.

Things start to get even more myopic from here. I just remember trying my best to answer questions through the pain during the ride, and trying to check on Andrew who shared the ambulance with me. It was a storm of sensory input when I got to the hospital. Andrew was taken to triage and I was taken into the ER immediately. I couldn't see most of the damage, and honestly I didn't want to... I was relieved that I could move everything, but still was in the most pain I've ever felt. I answered questions from doctors, nurses, and police, and kept asking about Andrew.

Being an aerialist raises your pain tolerance, but I was told they could hear me across the hospital floor when they tried to clean my extensive road rash. I have never felt anything so immeasurably painful. They had to sedate me to finish it. I was in the ER until Friday night. Once Andrew was released from triage with stitches, he stayed with me and helped do a few errands for me. I was switched to inpatient Friday night. By then, it was easier for friends to reach out to me.

As a professional athlete who lost my mobility in minutes to this assault, I've gone from climbing 20ft silks and performing aerial acrobatics to taking 5 minutes to climb a flight of stairs. Thankfully I'm healing quickly. On my drive home, we drove on Baltimore Avenue past 43rd and I couldn't look. I started tearing up. This neighborhood has always been such a safe haven for me. I hope I can see it the same way again someday.