Mang Sang identified as man stabbed and struck by a car in South Philly parking lot under I-95
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A 22-year-old man is dead after he was stabbed in the neck and then struck by a white Kia in South Philadelphia Monday night, according to police.
Philadelphia police said the stabbing and collision happened after 7:30 p.m. in a parking lot underneath I-95 at Front and Morris streets in South Philadelphia.
The two men were involved in a fight before the killing, according to police. At some point, the victim was knocked to the ground and then the other man walked over to the Kia, got in and ran over the victim.
Police later identified the victim as Mang Sang.
They don't know how the fight started but were investigating security camera footage in the area and speaking to eyewitnesses.
"Not only is he obviously run over by the vehicle, because the vehicle is still on top of the body, but according to medics, this victim had a large laceration to his neck. And since we found a folding knife on the scene, we believe that this victim may have been stabbed and run over," Philadelphia police Chief Inspector Scott Small said at the scene.
The driver left the car and ran from the scene. Medics said Sang died just before 7:50 p.m.
Investigators said no arrests were made, but a four-inch folding knife was found at the scene. Police were not sure whether the stabbing or the collision happened first.
The Kia used in the crime belonged to the victim's family. It has a Pennsylvania license plate that reads LNT-8209.
Pennsport community pleads for change
"What happened yesterday is a warning signal, and we can't ignore it," said Mary Ellen, who has lived in the Pennsport neighborhood of Philadelphia for nearly 24 years.
She wasn't alone in her concerns.
"It's not good, it's not good. It's a good neighborhood, it's a great neighborhood," said Marty Grassinger, a 55-year resident of the neighborhood.
"People are tired of this. Two people have lost their lives in four months," Gideon Lynch said.
Lynch was referring to an incident on December 26, where police say a man shot and killed a possible carjacker. That shooting happened blocks away from Monday's incident.
But neighbors said these killings aren't the only things happening in the area, and that the lots under I-95 have become a draw for criminal activity.
"They have been dealing drugs, handshake drugs down at that corner. Still doing it. I had somebody drop needles, I don't know maybe 100 needles, outside my property," Mary Ellen said.
"A few years ago my mechanic who retired told me they were stealing catalytic converters under here," Grassinger said.
Lynch, who said he's lived in the area for 13 years, showed CBS News Philadelphia pictures he said he's taken in the lots underneath I-95. They show cars missing tires, broken into, and vandalized. He said it's why he started a petition to make the neighborhood safer.
"We need surveillance cameras under I-95, and we need them now," Lynch said.
Lynch claims he gathered signatures from more than 1,000 residents in the neighborhood to get cameras installed under the highway. He sent that petition to State Rep. Elizabeth Fiedler, Councilmember Mark Squilla and other organizations.
Officials in the offices for Fiedler and Squilla said they passed Lynch's concerns on to the Interstate Land Management Corporation, the agency that oversees the lots under I-95. In a statement, a spokesperson for Rep. Fiedler said they "support efforts to increase lighting and other safety measures."
CBS News Philadelphia reached out to the ILMC but has not heard back. Neighbors in Pennsport said they're worried about what will happen to their community if something isn't done.
"Crime is a problem in this neighborhood, and if it's ignored, we will be another Kensington," Mary Ellen said.
