Hit-and-Run Claims Life of Pastor Minutes after 'Great Sermon'

Friends and family are grieving the death of a Pennsylvania pastor who was killed last week in a brutal hit-and-run accident. 

The incident unfolded last Thursday, just moments after Eliezer Leon, a pastor at Estanque de Sioloe Church in Germantown, had dropped off a group of recovering substance abusers at a local ministry. 

Just as Leon was trying to get in his car, the unthinkable happened -- a driver hit him full force, taking Leon's car door with him.  After being dragged 20 feet down the road, the 57-year-old died early Friday morning at Temple University Hospital. 

Teofilo Claudio, the church's lead pastor, was in a state disbelief, noting that Leon had just finished preaching a "great message" just 10 minutes before the tragedy.

"I went out and I saw this man laying there, and I recognized that it was 'Ellie' Eliezer Leon, and I said, 'Oh my God,' and it put me in a state of shock," Claudio told CBS Philly. 

Leon's brother, Willie, says his brother died doing what he loved.

"He always wanted to help; he never said no," he told ABC Action News 6. "He'd take the shirt off his back and give it to you if he had to. I guess that's how he passed away, doing what he wanted to do... help people all the time." 

Meanwhile, the hit-and-run driver, whom police say fled the scene, has not yet come forward. 

Police released a description of the vehicle. They are looking for a dark colored 2003-2007 Saab 9-3 that has damage on the passenger side fender, a flat front passenger side tire, a black passenger side view mirror with scuffing, and damage to the passenger side edge of the front windshield. 
 

The investigation is still underway, according to Philadelphia Police. Those with information on the case are asked to contact the Philadelphia Police Accident Investigation District at 215-685-3180/3181 or call 911.