Philadelphia plane crash victim found dead inside a car has been identified, police say
A person found dead in a car in the aftermath of the jet crash in Northeast Philadelphia last week has been identified, Philly police said in a release Wednesday afternoon.
The person has been identified as Steven Dreuitt, 37, of Philadelphia, by the Medical Examiner's Office for the City of Philadelphia.
Police said at the time of the crash, many cars were driving in the 2300 block of Cottman Avenue near the Roosevelt Mall. First responders at the scene found Dreuitt inside a car that was heavily damaged after the medical plane crashed.
Dreuitt's 9-year-old son was also in the car, his son's grandmother confirmed. The son was badly burned across 90% of his body and is still fighting for his life.
Police said the investigation of the crash remains ongoing.
"Did I die and go to hell?"
With many of these neighborhood streets reopening in Northeast Philadelphia, CBS News Philadelphia got an up-close look at the damage left behind to so many homes.
Crews have been boarding up windows through the afternoon on Wednesday, and what's really shocking, is how scatter-shot that damage really is.
"When you walk outside and everything looks exactly how it did before, but everything is on fire, you start wondering 'Did I die and go to hell?'" Nelson Daniels said.
A hellscape is what Daniels opened his door to on Friday night when a jet crashed a mere two blocks from his home on Rupert Street. Days later, as this street reopens, the damage to homes near Cottman Avenue becomes clear.
Windows were blown out, pieces of roofs missing and homes were gutted. But just feet from a home that's still behind barricades, Daniels counts himself lucky.
"Her house is destroyed," he said. "Even if you keep going down, a few houses down, they're all destroyed. And we got like a hole in the window and a couple holes and that's it."
Across Rupert, at Leonard and Hanford streets, at least six homes were counted with notices from licenses and inspections, deeming them unsafe. And there are plenty more homes with damage that people have returned to.
But the wreckage from Friday's crash isn't limited to structures. Some who were there when the plane went down said the mental toll has been taxing.
"I've been on a real short fuse, and I'm just real jumpy," Kyle Sokolowski said. "It's been real quiet. Eerie."
Sokolowski saw much of the immediate carnage of Friday's crash. He said he even helped a woman who had been badly burned get to first responders. While these few days have been traumatic, he says he's stayed in touch with the woman's family and their updates on her progress have kept him going.
"I can't even stress enough how good it makes me feel to get a text from them saying 'Hey, she's making advancements,'" Sokolowski said. "If I get to see that woman walk out of that hospital, I'll be in tears."
As this community reopens, neighbors said it'll take some time to get their sense of normal back.
"I can just be proud of what I did. And I hope that'll help me get through this," Sokolowski said.
"I can't even look at my neighbors and think 'What did you not see that night?'" Daniels said.
The city had a town hall meeting for residents impacted by the tragic accident on Wednesday night at the Solis-Cohen Elementary School at 7001 Horrocks Street.
