A 24-year-old man riding a small electric motorcycle was killed early Friday when a white or light-colored sedan struck him beneath a railroad trestle in Germantown and sped off, leaving the man's sneakers scattered dozens of feet apart on the pavement. He was rushed to Einstein Hospital, where he died minutes later.
Police and paramedics responded just after 1 a.m. to reports of a crash with injuries near Chelten Avenue and Baynton Street, according to NBC10 Philadelphia. Responders found the man lying unresponsive in the roadway, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said. A preliminary investigation found the victim was riding a small electric motorcycle when the sedan struck him, and 6abc reports he was rushed to Einstein Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Driver Fled West on Chelten Avenue
Witnesses told police the sedan was traveling westbound on Chelten Avenue when it struck the man, and the driver kept going westbound from Baynton Street rather than stopping, per NBC10's report. Investigators believe the crash happened beneath the railroad trestle rather than at an intersection or crosswalk, and they have not determined which direction the victim was traveling. Police have not released a description of the driver.
The force of the impact appeared to throw the motorcycle more than 100 feet, and the victim and his motorcycle were found in separate locations, the station's report notes. Officials said the crash knocked the man out of his sneakers — one was found in the roadway beneath the trestle, the other on the sidewalk, roughly 75 to 100 feet apart, per the same account.
Broken Parts May Point to a Ford
Investigators recovered several broken white vehicle parts at the scene, and police said those pieces may have come from a Ford, though they have not identified the specific vehicle model. The electric motorcycle itself was not street legal, Small said, because it lacked lights, turn signals, a license plate and an inspection sticker.
Pennsylvania law generally bars driving or moving an unregistered vehicle on a highway unless that vehicle is exempt from registration, according to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. Separate state statute requires pedalcycles operated between sunset and sunrise to carry specified lighting, though it is not established that classification applies to the vehicle involved in Friday's crash.
Latest in a String of Germantown Hit-and-Runs
Friday's crash adds to a run of unresolved hit-and-run cases in the neighborhood. CBS News Philadelphia reported there have been several hit-and-runs in Germantown in recent months, without giving an overall count. Among them: a gray Tesla struck and killed 21-year-old Dia Lee at Germantown Avenue and Coulter Street on June 20, with the driver fleeing before later turning herself in, and a white SUV fatally struck a woman in her 50s at the same intersection on July 3, with that driver still uncaught as of the CBS report. A white Chevrolet SUV also jumped the curb on Greene Street on September 1, killing a woman on the sidewalk; the driver left the scene but later reported the crash, per the same report.
A separate fatal hit-and-run also struck a 56-year-old man crossing East Chelten Avenue near McMahon Street on a Monday night, 6abc reported, with police believing the driver was behind the wheel of a Ford Escape.
Anyone with information on Friday's crash is urged to contact the Philadelphia Police Department at 215-686-TIPS (8477) or submit an anonymous tip online.
