Police: Hit-and-run crashes killed two seniors, hours apart on Friday
Police said two senior citizens were killed in separate hit-and-run incidents in the city
A driver fatally struck a 72-year-old woman and fled the scene in Northeast Philadelphia on Friday night, about two hours after another driver killed a 77-year-old woman in a separate hit-and-run crash in Overbook, police said.
Around 7:32 p.m., a 2004 Dodge Ram was heading eastbound on the 3500 block of Ryan Avenue when the driver struck a 72-year-old woman as she attempted to cross the street. The driver then sped off, according to police.
Shortly after the crash, police found the Dodge Ram in Mayfair, about two miles from the scene. The driver appeared intoxicated and was arrested for DUI offenses, police said. The suspect’s name has not been released.
The victim was taken to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital, where she remained in critical condition overnight. She died Saturday morning shortly after 6 a.m.
That crash followed a similar hit-and-run that occurred on the other side of the city around 5:20 p.m. Friday.
A 77-year-old woman was crossing the street near 54th Street and Lancaster Avenue when the driver of a black Infiniti struck her down, reversed down Lancaster Avenue, and then fled south, police said. The victim was transported to Lankenau Medical Center and was pronounced dead at 5:52 p.m.
No arrests have been made. After fleeing the scene, the driver dropped off a female passenger at a nearby pizza shop on Girard Avenue. Police said the Infiniti was observed with front-end damage and had a Delaware paper tag.
The city has recorded more than 70 fatal crashes since the start of this year, and city data show more than a third of those killed were pedestrians.
Nonfatal crashes punctuated the city’s weekend, too: A driver struck a child outside a childcare center in Southwest Philadelphia on Friday afternoon, 6ABC reported. A group of carjackers in a stolen vehicle caused a multi-vehicle crash at 19th and Spring Garden Streets late Friday night, according to NBC10. Around 2 a.m. early Saturday morning, a head-on crash on the 2200 block of Bryn Mawr Avenue left one driver in critical condition, police said.
Year over year, driving-related injuries and deaths continue trending downward after a brutal stretch during the pandemic.
The city recorded 166 fatalities from car crashes in 2020, the most in a single year since at least the 1980s, according to annual reports compiled by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation. Pedestrians comprised a third of all vehicle-related deaths between 2020 and 2023.
Last year, the city saw 18% fewer traffic-related injuries than in 2020. It recorded 137 crash deaths in 2024 and is on pace to end this year with even fewer deaths.