Shooting victim crashes outside police station

OGONTZ A 23-year-old man who was critically injured in a shooting crashed a car outside a police station Wednesday afternoon in the city's Ogontz section, police said.

About 3:10 p.m., a Mercury Grand Marquis heading east on Champlost Avenue turned south on Broad Street and crashed into a parked car in front of the 35th Police District station, police said.

The driver, who police said had been shot in the lower right side of his back, exited the car and collapsed as a dozen officers rushed out of the station. Officers rushed him to nearby Einstein Medical Center. The man told police that he had been shot in the 6800 block of Smedley Street.

The rear window of the Grand Marquis had been shot out, as had the driver's-side vent window. Another bullet hole was located near the license plate.

Police believe he was shot outside the car and fled in the car as his assailant fired three more times.

Police were investigating whether there was a connection between this shooting and a homicide Saturday night in the 6700 block of Smedley.

- Mike Newall