The chase for views has taken a dark and deadly turn for TikTok personality Tynesha McCarty-Wroten, better known as Tea Tyme.
The social media creator is officially off the timeline and behind bars after allegedly hitting and killing a pedestrian while she was streaming live on camera.
Authorities in Zion, Illinois, moved in on McCarty-Wroten on December 23, slapping her with serious charges including reckless homicide and aggravated use of an electronic communication device.
The tragedy went down on the evening of November 3 while 59-year-old Darren Lucas was just trying to make it home from his shift at a local grocery store. As he attempted to cross the street, he was struck by a vehicle driven by the influencer.
Zion Police and Fire departments rushed to the scene around 5:46 p.m., but despite being hurried to Vista Medical Center, Lucas was later pronounced dead. While McCarty-Wroten stayed at the scene to talk to cops, her digital footprint was about to tell a much different story.
It didn’t take long for the internet to do its thing, as followers began flooding investigators with screen recordings of a TikTok livestream from the account “Tea_Tyme_3.”
The footage reportedly shows the creator distracted by her phone screen just moments before a sickening “thump” is heard. In the clip, the driver is heard panicking and screaming, “F—, f—, f— … I just hit somebody,” while a passenger asks what happened. To make matters worse, police confirmed an 8-year-old child was sitting in the car during the entire ordeal.
Although she initially tried to block investigators from seeing her phone, forensic experts eventually got their hands on it and confirmed the video was rolling at the exact time of the fatal impact.
While the TikToker claimed she had a green light, surveillance footage from nearby businesses told a different tale, allegedly showing her cruising through a red light at 35 miles per hour without even hitting the brakes.
The situation got even messier when reports surfaced that she later asked fans for money so she could take a “mental leave” from content creation.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office finally issued the warrant this week, and Zion police didn’t waste any time. They caught up with McCarty-Wroten just as she was allegedly trying to dip out of her house with packed bags.
Now, the creator who lived for the comments is facing a judge, proving once again that the clout is never worth the cost of a life.
