A tough day in Sharon Hill

It is likely going to be a long, agonizing day in Sharon Hill.

Friends and family will gather to say goodbye to Faith Sinclair.

She’s the ebullient 16-year-old honor student whose bright future was snuffed out by a hit-run driver Sunday as she tried to cross Chester Pike at Laurel Road in the borough.

In the meantime, the search for her killer goes on. Police now believe they have the car that struck and killed Sinclair. They also know who owns the black 2000 Mercedes S-Class. The damage to the car is what they would expect from the accident. It is missing a side-view mirror. The front grill is gone. The windshield is shattered.

But police don’t know who was driving it Sunday night. And if anyone else was in the car.

The owner of the car, Lemuel Payne, of Upper Darby, has been identified as a “person of interest” by police. They would like to talk to him. Apparently Payne is not terribly interested in talking to them. At least not yet.

Instead he has been talking to a lawyer. Payne has hired Media attorney Mark Much. The lawyer has been in contact with both the Sharon Hill police and district attorney’s office. He wants to confer with his client before he makes any decision about talking to authorities.

None of which is likely to provide much in the way of comfort to those who will gather today to say goodbye to the teen whose mother referred to her as “Miss Wiggly,” a reference to her constant movement in the womb while her mom was pregnant.

There will be many voices raised today in remembrance of Faith Sinclair.

But there is likely one voice that could do more to lay this case to rest than any of the others.

That voice belongs to Lemuel Payne. A lot of people are waiting to hear what he has to say.

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