State police chase ends in crash, leaves two children injured in Germantown
The pursuit ended in a violent chain-reaction accident in the 5200 block of Morris Street.
A state police pursuit into the city’s Germantown section late Tuesday afternoon ended in a chain-reaction accident that left two children injured, Philadelphia police said.
State troopers were pursuing a silver Hyundai Entourage from the Schuylkill Expressway to the 5200 block of Morris Street about 4:20 p.m. when the minivan crashed into a parked vehicle, which then careened into the children.
A 12-year-old boy suffered injuries to his lower left leg and was transported to St. Christopher’s Hospital for Children. A 13-year-old girl who likely suffered a broken ankle was also taken to the hospital, police said.
Renaldo McPercy Robichaw, the minivan’s driver, and James Adams, a passenger, were taken into custody.
State police said they had just conducted a traffic stop of the minivan about 4 p.m. when the vehicle took off eastbound on the expressway. After the minivan exited the expressway, a gun was tossed from the vehicle. City police later recovered the gun.
“The suspect vehicle continued traveling at a high rate of speed on surface streets” before crashing on Morris, state police said in a statement.
Adams had an active warrant for his arrest in Philadelphia, state police said.
The scene on Morris was like the aftermath of a demolition derby, with one parked Hyundai four-door sedan rammed on top of another car.
Emil Duffy, 30, the owner of the Hyundai sedan and a graduate student at Temple University, was shocked by what happened in front of his home.
“I understand that the police have a job to do, and they want to catch a suspect, but this kind of chase happening in a residential neighborhood at 4 o’clock on a school day? Two kids got hurt and one was laid up on my porch with [a] very bad foot injury and contusion. It’s kind of unacceptable,” Duffy said.
“She was conscious and obviously in a lot of pain and very scared,” Duffy said of the injured girl. “We got her a blanket to put under her foot” until the medics arrived.