Foundation established in memory of Warwick High School graduate Jamal Morris
By Roger Gavan
WARWICK — On Saturday, April 30, Warwick’s Union African Methodist Episcopal Church was filed to capacity as hundreds of church members and many other community residents came to pay their respects.
They were there to show their love and support for Charlton Morris and Channabel Latham-Morris, the parents of Jamal Charlton Morris, 27, who was killed by a hit and run driver last month in Philadelphia.
The visitation was followed by a “Homegoing Celebration” service.
The family has now established the Jamal C. Morris Foundation through the Bike & Build organization, whose mission through service-oriented cycling trips, is to benefit affordable housing and empower young adults for a lifetime of service and civic engagement.
Morris, an avid cyclist who used his bicycle to commute, was riding his bright red Chainboard bicycle near 45th and Market Streets in Philadelphia early in the morning on April 16 when he was struck by a vehicle and suffered massive head trauma.
He was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he died two days later.
Morris graduated from Warwick Valley High School in 2006 and Drexel University in 2011.
He was a mechanical engineer with AMEC Foster Wheeler in Philadelphia and a part-time staff member at Penn Athletics at the University of Pennsylvania.
According to police, there was no evidence on the road to determine what type of vehicle had struck Morris. Police are looking for anyone with information on the hit-and-run crash to come forward.
Family members have also pleaded for the driver to surrender to police.
“As a mom,” said Channabel Latham-Morris, a sister in the UAME Church, “I am pleading with the person who hit my son. I forgive you. So you need to know that I forgive you. Please come forward.”
The family requests that any donations be made in Jamal Morris’ name to the Jamal C. Morris Foundation.
WARWICK — On Saturday, April 30, Warwick’s Union African Methodist Episcopal Church was filed to capacity as hundreds of church members and many other community residents came to pay their respects.
They were there to show their love and support for Charlton Morris and Channabel Latham-Morris, the parents of Jamal Charlton Morris, 27, who was killed by a hit and run driver last month in Philadelphia.
The visitation was followed by a “Homegoing Celebration” service.
The family has now established the Jamal C. Morris Foundation through the Bike & Build organization, whose mission through service-oriented cycling trips, is to benefit affordable housing and empower young adults for a lifetime of service and civic engagement.
Morris, an avid cyclist who used his bicycle to commute, was riding his bright red Chainboard bicycle near 45th and Market Streets in Philadelphia early in the morning on April 16 when he was struck by a vehicle and suffered massive head trauma.
He was taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, where he died two days later.
Morris graduated from Warwick Valley High School in 2006 and Drexel University in 2011.
He was a mechanical engineer with AMEC Foster Wheeler in Philadelphia and a part-time staff member at Penn Athletics at the University of Pennsylvania.
According to police, there was no evidence on the road to determine what type of vehicle had struck Morris. Police are looking for anyone with information on the hit-and-run crash to come forward.
Family members have also pleaded for the driver to surrender to police.
“As a mom,” said Channabel Latham-Morris, a sister in the UAME Church, “I am pleading with the person who hit my son. I forgive you. So you need to know that I forgive you. Please come forward.”
The family requests that any donations be made in Jamal Morris’ name to the Jamal C. Morris Foundation.