Two cars came racing through a red light in Center City early Thursday morning and one hit another car with such force that the two men inside never had a chance.
"It was a t-bone accident. When the Buick struck the Toyota…it struck it with such speed and force that fire department paramedics pronounced both the driver and the passenger dead within minutes of the accident," said Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small.
The driver and passenger in the Buick Regal jumped out of their car and into the other car that also ran the light, and fled, witnesses told police.
"We are getting some information that there may have been drag racing… the Buick may have been drag racing and part of that drag race team may have been the Pontiac that [the men] jumped into," said Small.
A gun was found in the Buick along with cell phones. Police are getting information off those phones and checking the city's red light cameras to see if there's any video of the accident.
"We're gonna be pulling every camera angle that we have as well as cameras owned by private businesses and the hospital and parking garages in the area," Small said.
The victims appear to be two Asian men and investigators are working to identify them.
The accident happened about 1:45 a.m. at Vine and 16th Streets. It's being investigated as a vehicular homicide.
Police ran the plates on the Buick and found out it's registered to someone in the city.
The car the suspects fled in was last seen headed west on the Schuylkill Expressway around the Montgomery exit. It's a dark-colored Pontiac G4 or G6 two-door coupe with tinted windows. Police think it's a later model – a 2007, '08 or '09.
