New initiative underway to get drivers to slow down in Germantown amid several hit-and-runs
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Philadelphia police are searching for the driver who struck and killed another person in the city's Germantown section. The driver, instead of stopping to help, took off.
Now, a new effort is underway to get drivers to slow down.
Surveillance video shows a pickup truck slamming into another vehicle, sending the car spinning, at the intersection of Chelten Avenue and Ardleigh Street in Philadelphia's Germantown neighborhood.
Video shows a row of parked cars getting smashed.
"We heard a real hard thump," resident Aisha Ware said. "We looked out the window, a tow truck was on top of another car."
Police say a 51-year-old man was ejected from the car and killed. Officers say the driver responsible fled on foot.
"I drive here every day and I park here every day. It's scary. They drive like they want," Ware said.
Residents say speeding is a problem not only on Chelten Avenue, but throughout the neighborhood. Traffic safety advocate Sharrieff Ali created a new initiative called, "Slow Down Germantown."
"We know statistically is the speed is what's killing people," Ali said. "These vehicles are like, I mean, they're weapons."
There have been several hit-and-runs in Germantown in the last few months.
On June 20, a gray Tesla struck and killed 21-year-old Dia Lee at Germantown Avenue and Coulter Street. The driver left the scene, but later turned herself in.
On July 3, at the same intersection, a white SUV fatally struck a woman in her 50s as she was crossing the street. The driver has yet to be caught.
Then on September 1, a white Chevrolet SUV jumped the curb on Greene Street and killed a woman walking on the sidewalk. The driver took off but later reported the crash.
Neighbors say enough is enough and demand action.
"Red light cameras, speed cameras, we'd like to see some enforcement, if we could. We're talking about doing sobriety checks," Ali said.
On Monday, police returned to the scene of the most recent hit-and-run to look for surveillance video. You can still see shattered glass left behind.
If you have any information about the driver, police urge you to give them a call.
