Police "Not in Pursuit" of Speeding Car That Killed 4

"No skid marks" when speeding car crashed

By KAREN ARAIZA

Updated 5:20 PM EST, Thu, Jun 11, 2009

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NBC10

The car that killed three children and a young mother may was speeding when it slammed into them Wednesday night, according to police accident investigators.

"There were no skid marks," said Police Commissioner Charles Ramsay.

And police were "not in pursuit at the time," Ramsey said. The commissioner told reporters during a briefing Thursday that the officer who had been chasing the car before the Feltonville crash, lost sight of it when he got stuck in traffic.

Police will ask prosecutors to charge the 18-year-old driver with murder.

11-month old Remedy Smith was the youngest victim.

Latoya Smith, 22, was Remedy's mother and the aunt of another victim.

The driver was one of two suspects police say stole a motorcyle minutes earlier in North Philadelphia. One suspect took off on the bike and the other, in the car. That speeding car turned a corner onto 3rd Street, jumped a sidewalk and slammed into the victims.

The crash killed 11-month old Remedy Smith, her mother Latoya, 22, and two other children, ages 7 and 5.

Grieving neighbors have been bringing flowers and mementos to the accident scene.

First Published: Jun 11, 2009 11:34 AM EST

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