A car slammed into a retaining wall on the Strawberry Mansion Bridge in West Philadelphia early Wednesday, leaving a woman in critical condition and a man in stable condition after both were rushed to a nearby hospital. The crash shut down the span for several hours overnight before crews finished clearing the wreckage.
According to police, the crash happened after 2 a.m. on Strawberry Mansion Drive, as NBC10 Philadelphia reports. First responders transported the two occupants of the vehicle, a woman and a man, to a hospital, where the woman was hospitalized in critical condition and the man was listed in stable condition.
Police did not immediately release the identities of either person involved, nor any additional details about what led the vehicle to strike the wall, per the outlet's report. The station says it is still working to learn more about the circumstances of the crash.
Bridge Shut Down For Hours Overnight
The Strawberry Mansion Bridge was closed to traffic for several hours overnight while crews worked to clear the crash wreckage, the same report notes. The roadway reopened to traffic at about 5 a.m. Wednesday, allowing commuters to resume crossing the span as the morning rush got underway.
A Bridge With a Troubled Recent History
Wednesday's crash is not the first time the Strawberry Mansion Bridge has seen traffic come to a halt. A three-vehicle crash previously snarled the span in Fairmount Park on a Wednesday morning, with police diverting vehicles from the bridge at about 10 a.m. and officials unable to say at the time when it would reopen, according to a separate NBC10 Philadelphia report.
The nearby corridor has also seen fatal consequences. A 41-year-old man was killed in a three-vehicle crash on Kelly Drive near the Strawberry Mansion Bridge on a Thursday afternoon, according to The Philadelphia Inquirer. In that incident, police said a black 2015 Nissan Altima attempted an illegal left turn at Reservoir Drive and was struck by a Nissan Rogue; the victim was later pronounced dead at Temple University Hospital, while the 44-year-old Altima driver was hospitalized in stable condition. Police said the investigation into that crash was continuing and charges were pending.
No word yet on what caused Wednesday's crash on the Strawberry Mansion Bridge, and police have not said whether citations or charges are being considered. Hoodline will update this story as more information becomes available.
