2 dead in sports-car crash; later, man arrested in hit-run

Twisted metal, shattered glass and spattered blood littered the scenes of two car crashes in separate sections of the city yesterday.

The first accident proved fatal for two people in Southwest Philadelphia.

Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said a 29-year-old Media man lost control of his speeding Lamborghini on Essington Avenue near Bartram and crossed into the opposite lane of traffic about 6:30 p.m.

The Lamborghini was struck by two other vehicles and ended up in a crumpled heap on the side of the road.

The driver of the sports car and his 60-year-old male passenger died at the scene, Small said. Their names were not released.

The drivers of the two other vehicles were treated at an area hospital for minor injuries.

"Apparently, the Lamborghini had just been purchased the day before," Small said.

Investigators believed the car might have been traveling at more than 90 mph when the crash occurred.

"It took rescuers over an hour to get them out of the vehicle," Small noted.

A wild scene unfolded in Fairhill later in the evening.

At 8:07 p.m., a 33-year-old man in a green, four-door sedan ran over a bicyclist at 5th and Clearfield streets, Small said.

The driver sped away but ended up in another violent crash minutes later, when he drove through a red light at 2nd Street and Lehigh Avenue and struck a minivan carrying five people, Small said.

The impact caused the van to overturn. Small said four police officers and three civilians righted the van.

The van's occupants suffered only minor injuries. All were listed in stable condition at Temple University Hospital and at Albert Einstein Medical Center, Small said.

Small said the 30-year-old bicyclist also was listed in stable condition at Temple.

The driver of the sedan, whom police did not identify, was arrested as he tried to run from the scene of his second crash, Small said.