TikTok creator Tea Tyme has been arrested nearly two months after she allegedly struck and killed a pedestrian while livestreaming from her car.
The influencer, whose real name is Tynesha McCarty-Wroten, was taken into custody on Christmas Eve in connection with the November 3 death of Darren Lucas, 59, according to Zion police.
Lt. Paul Kehrli of the Zion Police Department confirmed McCarty-Wroten, 43, faces felony charges of reckless homicide and aggravated use of a communications device resulting in death.
The charges can carry a sentence ranging from several years to more than a decade in prison, depending on enhancements.
Crash allegedly happened on TikTok livestream
Police say McCarty-Wroten was livestreaming on TikTok while driving through Zion, Illinois, north of Chicago, when she struck Lucas as he crossed an intersection near his home in Beach Park.
Footage from the stream reportedly captured a loud thud, followed by McCarty-Wroten saying, “F**k, I just hit somebody.” A child in the car can be heard asking what happened before the stream abruptly cut off.
Lucas was found unconscious at the scene and later pronounced dead at a hospital emergency room due to blunt force injuries.
Charges filed weeks later
McCarty-Wroten initially remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators. She was not immediately charged.
Police later said their investigation intensified after becoming aware of a video suggesting the fatal crash occurred during a livestream tied to McCarty-Wroten’s TikTok account. That account was later set to private, and a bio listing Zion as the user’s location was removed.
“In the days following the crash, numerous members of the public reached out to Zion Investigators to inform them of a TikTok video that allegedly showed Ms. McCarty-Wroten live-streaming herself driving at the time of the crash,” the police said. “The video was preserved and verified through extensive investigation, including the execution of multiple search warrants and analysis of electronic data.”
According to jail records cited by The Guardian, the charges include reckless homicide and aggravated use of a communications device resulting in death.
Lucas’s son-in-law, Chris King, said the family was informed of the arrest earlier this week.
“The family and myself are glad to see the wheels of justice moving,” King said.
Days after Lucas’s death, Tea Tyme sparked backlash after hosting another livestream in which she solicited Cash App donations, claiming the money would help her take “mental leave” from the internet.
“You know I don’t like asking y’all for shit, but if y’all find it in y’all’s heart and y’all wanna support, my CashApp is right there,” she said, according to a recording shared online.
Lucas’s family has since launched a GoFundMe to support his widow, whom King described as “everything” to the 59-year-old.
The case remains under investigation.
Un triangolo 3-4-5 che spunta dal nulla