Debris littered the scene hours after a deadly car crash overnight in Philadelphia that could have been related to a rape investigation.
Residents in the city’s Kensington section who heard the sounds of screeching tires and the impact told NBC10’s Jesse Gary that it appeared the wreck along the 400 block of E Westmoreland Avenue at Boudinot Street was the result of a police pursuit. They said a police car without it's lights or siren on was chasing the Nissan Altima.
“We heard the screeching and we ran to the corner and when we ran to the corner the car had already hit the wall,” neighbor Maria Maldonado said.
Philadelphia Police said officers weren’t chasing the Altima around 1:15 a.m. when it slammed head-on into a wall at McKinley Playground.
The unidentified victim, who was in his 20s, died on impact. Accident investigators said he hit the brakes about 50 feet before impact.
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Philadelphia Police Special Victims Unit investigators said the deadly crash was partially connected to a rape investigation on the 2600 block of Collins Street -- about one mile away.
Investigators didn’t elaborate on that connection.
Both incidents remained under investigation Tuesday.
