A 44-year-old woman riding an e-bike ended up pinned beneath a Volkswagen Beetle at the intersection of 11th Street and Lincoln Avenue in Prospect Park, Delaware County, and it took six or seven strangers working together to lift the car off her. The rider suffered chest injuries that later required surgery, and she was taken to a hospital following the crash.
According to WSOC-TV, bystanders answered the woman's call for help after she became trapped under the vehicle. Karl Wise, a delivery driver who was nearby, picked up the Beetle from its side and told the woman not to move while another man joined the effort to pull her to safety. As reported by CBS News Philadelphia, the vintage Beetle weighs roughly 1,800 pounds, about half what a modern SUV weighs, which helps explain how a small group could lift it without machinery.
Police Detail How the Crash Unfolded
Prospect Park Police Chief Dave Madonna said the rider was traveling between 20 and 25 mph on Lincoln Road while rushing to an appointment when she attempted to pass a car that was making a right turn, according to the same outlet's report. Surveillance and body camera footage documented the sequence of events leading up to the collision. Madonna noted the rider could face several hundred dollars in traffic fines, and the investigation into potential violations remains ongoing, the station reported.
Among those who rushed to help was Chrissy Vollmer, owner of the nearby business CV Signs LLC, who heard the collision from inside her sign shop and ran outside to assist, per the CBS station's report. In WSOC-TV's account of the incident, a woman identified as Christine Vollmer called 911 during the rescue. Together with the other bystanders, she helped ensure the rider received medical attention while the group worked to free her.
Good Samaritan Law Shields the Rescuers
The strangers who lifted the car are protected from civil liability under Pennsylvania law. Under 42 Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes ยง 8332, published on Justia Law, anyone who in good faith renders emergency care, treatment, or rescue at the scene of an emergency is granted civil immunity, shielding rescuers from damages unless their actions amount to gross negligence or intentional harm.
Part of a Wider Rise in E-Bike Crashes
The Prospect Park rescue comes amid a broader surge in e-bike incidents across the region. Statewide bicyclist fatalities in Pennsylvania rose from 19 in 2024 to 28 in 2025, with e-bike riders accounting for 12 of those deaths, even as overall traffic fatalities in the state dropped, according to PennDOT data reported by The Rothenberg Law Firm. In Philadelphia specifically, e-bike and e-scooter crashes jumped 40% year-over-year, from 140 in 2024 to 197 in 2025, outnumbering traditional bicycle crashes for the first time, per data cited by Williams Cedar, which also noted 193 non-fatal e-bike injuries in the city last year.
Delaware County municipalities have already begun responding to the trend. In March, Haverford Township enacted a local ordinance requiring helmets for riders under 16 on e-bikes and e-scooters, a move that followed a fatal crash involving a 12-year-old, according to PhillyVoice. The Rothenberg Law Firm has also reported that 80% of Philadelphia's serious and fatal traffic crashes occur on the city's High Injury Network, a set of roads that makes up just 12% of the city's total street mileage, underscoring how a small share of streets carries an outsized share of the danger.
