Crash involving stolen Cadillac kills man in wheelchair in Philly, police say
Four occupants fled the SUV on foot; one was caught by police. Guns were found inside the vehicle, police said.
A man in a wheelchair was killed and a woman and young girl were injured when a stolen car being pursued by police crashed into them late Saturday night in Philadelphia’s Port Richmond section, police said.
Officers had been pursuing the stolen Cadillac SUV when it rammed into a Mazda stopped at Aramingo Avenue and Ontario Street at 9:13 p.m. Saturday, police said.
Both vehicles spun out, according to police, and then the SUV crashed into a Chevy Silverado pickup truck at Aramingo and Castor Avenues about a half-mile away.
Inside the Silverado were a 27-year-old woman and an 11-year-old girl, both of whom were injured, police said. The driver of the Mazda had not been hurt.
The Cadillac SUV then jumped the curb at a Burger King at Aramingo and Castor Avenues, hitting a 38-year-old man who was in a wheelchair panhandling outside the restaurant, police said.
Four occupants then got out of the SUV and fled on foot. As of Sunday afternoon, police had apprehended one of them, a 19-year-old male whose identity had not been immediately released. Police said they did not yet know whether he was the driver of the SUV, in which were found several firearms, police said.
A variety of criminal charges were pending, police said, while not elaborating.
Chief Inspector D.F. Pace told 6ABC that three of the SUV’s occupants ran in one direction, and the fourth in another. The officer who chased the fourth reported seeing him throwing bullets from his pockets, Pace said.
The man in the wheelchair, whose identity was not released, was taken to Temple University Hospital, where he died at midnight, police said.
The woman and girl were transported to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children with minor injuries, police said.
The crash comes at a time of rising carjackings in Philadelphia as well as more lethal streets for pedestrians. With several weeks still left in 2022, 49 pedestrians have been killed in traffic accidents this year, according to city data, nearly as many as 2020′s all-time record of 52 deaths. Carjackings are continuing to skyrocket: more than 1,000 have been reported this year, compared to 847 last year and 410 in 2020.
It was unclear how long the police had been pursuing the stolen car, or whether the chase took place at high speeds.