A hit-and-run left an 83-year-old man hurt and an SUV precariously perched on the front yards of two Philadelphia row homes Tuesday.
A Blue Chevy Trailblazer came to rest on the front steps of two homes along Andrews Avenue in the city’s West Oak Lane neighborhood after striking Joe Williams, 83, as he was doing some yard work around 9:15 a.m. The SUV came to a rest against fencing surrounding one yard and people used 2 x 4s to keep it propped up on the sloped lawn of another home.
"I was like asleep," said Williams' neighbor James Hayes. "I just heard a big thump."
Hayes told NBC10 Williams wasn't moving after being struck.
"I thought he was dead," Hayes said. "I freaked out. I was like, 'Oh my God!'"
The crash left Williams hospitalized in stable condition at Einstein Medical Center with multiple injuries, police said.
"He was hit right there in front of his house," police Lt. Dan Blookes said.
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Despite being struck, Williams was able to tell police that he saw the SUV was chasing a white vehicle just before it lost control and ran onto his lawn.
The SUV driver ran from the scene, police said. Williams didn't have time to get out of the way.
Police spoke a short time later to the owner of the SUV at his home. He claimed he wasn't driving, police said.
They continued to look for the driver of the other vehicle.
Investigators hoped surveillance video could help them determine if road rage, street racing or something else played a role in the crash.
