Skip to content
News
Link copied to clipboard

30 hurt in Southwest Phila. trolley crash

Thirty people were injured, two critically, when a stolen SUV crashed into a SEPTA trolley in Southwest Philadelphia on Wednesday.

Both men who were in the Hyundai Tucson were listed in critical condition. The operator and 27 passengers on the trolley also were injured in the accident, but none seriously, authorities said.
Both men who were in the Hyundai Tucson were listed in critical condition. The operator and 27 passengers on the trolley also were injured in the accident, but none seriously, authorities said.Read more(Photo tweeted by SEPTA police chief Thomas Nestel)

Thirty people were injured, two critically, when a stolen SUV crashed into a SEPTA trolley in Southwest Philadelphia on Wednesday.

Those injured included the two men in the stolen vehicle, the operator of the Route 36 trolley, and its 27 passengers, officials said.

The crash happened shortly before 9:30 a.m., when the trolley, bound for Center City, was struck head-on by a white Hyundai Tucson headed south on 49th Street as it tried to turn onto Grays Avenue, Philadelphia police said.

Both men in the speeding SUV, including one who was briefly trapped in the vehicle, were taken to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. Both were in critical condition Wednesday night, police said.

The 27 passengers complained of pain and were treated at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania and Hahnemann University Hospital, authorities said. The operator was hospitalized in good condition. None of the injuries to those on the trolley appeared to be serious, authorities said.

Police and SEPTA officials said they were not in pursuit of the vehicle at the time of the crash. The SUV was reported stolen Dec. 15 from the 6100 block of Reedland Street in Southwest Philadelphia, police said.

The trolley suffered minor damage, Andrew Busch, a SEPTA spokesman, said.

"This would be one of the more serious accidents recently," Busch said. "There's no indication of any kind of error on the part of the trolley operator."

SEPTA trolleys are equipped with video cameras, but it typically takes a day until investigators learn what was captured. That footage will be shared with police.

The crash remained under investigation Wednesday night.

jlaughlin@phillynews.com215-854-4587@jasmlaughlin

Staff writer Robert Moran contributed to this article.