Local
Fatal Hit-and-Run in Germantown: 24-Year-Old Rider Killed, Police Seek Light-Colored Sedan
A 24-year-old man riding a small electric motorcycle was struck and killed by a white or light-colored sedan early Friday at Chelten Avenue and Baynton Street, and the driver fled westbound, Philadelphia police say.
PHILADELPHIA â A 24-year-old man was killed early Friday when a white or light-colored sedan struck the electric motorcycle he was riding in Germantown and the driver kept going, according to Philadelphia police.
Officers and paramedics were called to Chelten Avenue and Baynton Street just after 1 a.m. for a report of a crash with injuries. They found the man lying unresponsive in the roadway, Chief Inspector Scott Small said. He was taken to Einstein Hospital, where he died minutes later.
Witnesses told investigators the sedan was heading westbound on Chelten Avenue when it hit the rider. The driver did not stop and continued west on Chelten Avenue, police said.
Small said the collision appears to have happened beneath a railroad trestle rather than at an intersection or crosswalk. Police have not determined which direction the victim was traveling.
The force of the impact threw the motorcycle more than 100 feet, leaving the rider and the bike in separate locations, according to Small. The man's sneakers were knocked off as well â one was found in the roadway under the trestle and the other on the sidewalk, roughly 75 to 100 feet apart.
Investigators recovered several broken white vehicle parts that police said may have come from a Ford. No description of the driver has been released, and police have not identified the specific vehicle model.
Small said the electric motorcycle was not street legal because it lacked lights, turn signals, a license plate and an inspection sticker.
The crash adds to a grim pattern of traffic deaths on Philadelphia streets, where pedestrians, cyclists and riders of small motorized vehicles remain among the most vulnerable road users. Advocates have long pressed the city for safer street design and stronger enforcement against hit-and-run drivers.
Police are asking anyone with information to call 215-686-TIPS (8477) or submit a tip anonymously through the department's online form.