Weekend crime rundown: Three killed in accidents, shooting
At least three people were injured and three people were killed this weekend in several violent crimes and auto accidents around the city.
Police said the weekend’s first major incident came early Friday morning, when a dirt bike allegedly ran a red light at a Holmesburg intersection and t-boned a car.
Investigators said the gas-powered minibike was being driven by a 14-year-old boy, who was allegedly traveling on the sidewalk of Frankford Avenue and speeding before he drove into the intersection of Sheffield Street and blew through the light around 8:15 p.m. The bike struck the passenger side of a car driving on Sheffield Street.
Fire rescue rushed the 14-year-old bike driver to Aria Health-Torresdale, where he is hospitalized in critical condition with head trauma, according to police. Officers said the second car remained on the scene after the crash. They do not suspect drugs or alcohol to have been a factor.
Bar brawl leads to iPhone, handgun theft
A 36-year-old man was beaten and robbed early Saturday morning during a fight outside a South Philadelphia bar. Police said the victim was in front of Cookies Tavern at 10th Street and Oregon Avenue when a 45-year-0ld man confronted him about an ongoing dispute.
The two men began to argue and the 45-year-old allegedly grabbed the victim, touching off a struggle. Police said that as the two fought, several other unidentified men began punching and kicking the 36-year-old man as he was on the ground.
Responders found the victim lying on the highway and bleeding from multiple cuts to his head, face and body. He had been robbed of a 9mm handgun and an iPhone 4, according to investigators.
He was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania in stable condition. The alleged aggressor in the fight was arrested Saturday morning and taken into custody. His identity has not yet been released.
Body found
A body was recovered from the Wissahickon Creek Saturday afternoon. Police said a passerby was walking in Fairmount Park near Lincoln Drive and Ridge Avenue around 2 p.m. when he saw the corpse floating in the water. Medics pronounced the person dead on the scene.
The Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy to determine the person’s cause and manner of death. No identity has yet been released.
Two men were shot – one of them fatally – early Sunday morning in the Logan section of North Philadelphia. Police said both victims were found outside on the 1400 block of West Louden Street and taken to Albert Einstein Medical Center.
Double shooting kills one
One man, 37, was shot in the chest and died around 2:15 a.m. The second man, 33, was shot in the stomach and rushed into surgery. He is hospitalized in critical condition.
There is no word on a motive, and authorities said the investigation is ongoing.
An auto accident in Bustleton claimed one life and left one person in critical condition about two hours later.
Fatal crash
Investigators said a 1995 Ford Explorer was driving east on Grant Avenue near Krewstown Avenue around 4:10 a.m. when the driver failed to negotiate a curb, sending the car onto a grassy curb, then into the westbound lane of traffic. The car then hit another curb and wrapped around the tree, according to authorities.
Police said the Explorer’s passenger, a woman in her late teens to early 20s, was ejected during the crash and died on the scene. The 19-year-old driver was partially ejected and is hospitalized in extremely critical condition at Aria Health-Frankford. The investigation into the accident is ongoing.
See something?
No arrests have yet been made in the majority of this weekend’s violent crimes. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or to submit an anonymous tip by dialing 215-686-TIPS (8477), texting PPD TIP (773847), emailing tips@phillypolice.com or by filling out this online form.
