Tow truck hits man on Philadelphia's Roosevelt Boulevard
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A tow truck hit a pedestrian on Roosevelt Boulevard in Northeast Philadelphia Thursday morning, police say.
First responders rushed to the Boulevard at Levick Street in Mayfair around 3:30 a.m. They found a 50-year-old man with severe injuries, including a skull fracture.
The man was taken to Jefferson Torresdale Hospital where he was placed in critical condition but was expected to survive, police said.
The truck driver told police he thought he saw debris on the roadway and swerved to miss it. That's when the driver hit the pedestrian.
The driver remained at the scene. The crash is still under investigation.
It happened just days after Philadelphia officials announced a major plan to help make Roosevelt Boulevard safer.
The plan, funded by a new $78 million federal grant, will "re-time" traffic signals and build new medians and sidewalks.
The road remains one of the most dangerous roads in the U.S.
According to a city planning document, 14% of all fatal vehicle crashes in the city happen on Roosevelt Boulevard.
Over the last 7 years, 75 people have been killed along the 12-mile stretch. About half of those people were pedestrians who were struck trying to cross the 12-lane highway.
