Tesla driver charged in a fatal hit-and-run in North Philadelphia, the fifth hit-and-run in two weeks

A North Philadelphia man has been charged in the hit-and-run death of a 29-year-old man in Nicetown on Tuesday night, the fifth hit-and-run in the city in less than two weeks.

Richard Collins, of the 100 block of Ashdale Street, was arrested around 11:37 a.m. Wednesday for fatally striking the man with a burgundy Tesla on the 1700 block of West Hunting Park Avenue, police said. Collins was charged with multiple crimes, including aggravated assault, homicide by vehicle, and accident involving death.

Shortly before 6:45 p.m., Collins, 27, was driving the Tesla westbound on West Hunting Park Avenue when he hit the man, who was crossing West Hunting Park Avenue from the southbound side of the street to the northbound side, police said. The victim, who was not identified, was crossing the street along the 1700 block of West Hunting Park Avenue, near the Shane Victorino Nicetown Boys and Girls Club when he was struck.

Collins drove the Tesla a few blocks away from the scene before parking the car and walking to his mother’s house, police said. Collins’ mother drove him to the 39th District to file a report.

The victim was pronounced dead at the scene minutes after being hit, police said.

Tuesday night’s hit-and-run was the fifth such incident in Philadelphia in less than two weeks. Four of them were fatal.

On Jan. 27, cyclist Danyel O. Tingle, 41, of Port Richmond, was struck and killed at the intersection of Westford Road and Ashdale Street in Olney, police said. Philadelphia police later arrested Byron Itzep, 42, of the 5200 block of Rorer Street, and charged him with involuntary manslaughter, causing an accident involving death, driving without a license, and related crimes.

On Jan. 24, a 53-year-old man was left in critical condition after a driver struck him with a car in Mayfair before fleeing the scene, police said. The driver of a dark-colored SUV traveling southbound on Frankford Avenue hit the man as he walked near the 7000 block of Frankford Avenue, police said.

No arrests had been made.

And on Jan. 22, two fatal hit-and-runs happened within hours.

That day, at around 5:40 p.m., a car struck and killed Savoun So, 43, on the 600 block of Oregon Avenue in South Philadelphia, police said. So had been crossing Oregon Avenue from the south sidewalk to the north sidewalk when a person driving eastbound in a silver SUV hit her.

So, of the 2700 block of Randolph Street, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police previously said they had recovered a Volkswagen Golf and were speaking to a person of interest, but no arrests had been made.

At 8:33 p.m. Jan. 22, Edguardo Rosario Jimenez, 31, was riding a bike on the 1900 block of North Howard Street in the Kensington section of the city when a driver in a white box van fatally hit him, police said. The van’s driver fled northbound on Howard Street.

The driver of the white van, which police said may be a Ford Econoline, was traveling east on Berks Street and hit Jimenez when the driver turned the van left onto North Howard Street. Jimenez, of the 1900 block of North Mascher Street, was traveling west on Berks Street and he and the van collided head-on in the intersection of Berks and North Howard Streets, police said.

Police made no arrests.

The recent spate of hit-and-runs comes after a record-setting year in which hit-and-run fatalities rose to a record 31, triple that of 2019.

Drivers fled the scene in one out of four of 117 fatal car crashes recorded in 2022 into mid-December, police records show.