Early Friday morning, an accident under the Ben Franklin Bridge in Old City Philadelphia resulted in the death of a pickup truck driver following a collision with a Pennsylvania State Police cruiser. FOX29 reported that the incident occurred around 1:30 a.m. at the intersection of Columbus Boulevard and Race Street, when state troopers, responding to another incident, collided with a pickup truck making an illegal left turn.

The impact between the state trooper's vehicle and the pickup was severe enough to lead Rashid Izzard, an eyewitness, to compare the sound to that of a bomb. "You should have heard it though. Oh man, like a bomb," Izzard told KYW Newsradio following the crash, expressing surprise that nothing exploded due to the collision's intensity.

After the accident, both troopers were transported to Jefferson Hospital. They have since been released, according to 6ABC Action News. The crash scene left a significant impact on residents and workers in the vicinity. Gabe Griffin, a hotel employee nearby, reported witnessing the aftermath of the collision, describing the sight of the overturned pickup and the unfortunate casualties as traumatic.

In the wider context of the incident, there was a chase involving a stolen vehicle that continued a mile south on Columbus Blvd. After the initial collision, the stolen car ultimately crashed into a light post along the bike path on Columbus Blvd. "Two suspects were taken into custody," as per 6ABC Action News. The thoroughfare has been cleared and traffic has resumed in both directions following the tragic event.