A man is dead and three people injured after a car accident in the Spring Garden section of the city.
Police say a Red Toyota collided with a Silver Nissan around 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The collision caused the Nissan to crash into the Highway Tabernacle Church on 18th and Spring Garden. A 79-year-old man and his 77-year-old wife from Blue Bell, who had been shopping in the city, were outside on the sidewalk at the corner. The car struck the couple, pinning the husband underneath it, before slamming into the church.
The 79-year-old man was taken to Hahnemann Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 5:03 p.m. His wife was also taken to Hahnemann where she is listed in stable condition.
Police say the two female drivers involved in the accident were taken to Jefferson Hospital where they are both stable.
"My mother is okay," said Blake Edwards, the son of 57-year-old Kim Edwards, the driver of the Toyota. "She's a little shaken up but she's alright, she's doing well."
Mark Boucher, the pastor of Highway Tabernacle, has been praying for the elderly woman, who is expected to recover physically but is no doubt suffering emotionally due to the loss of her husband.
"We all see death from a distance every day on TV or wherever," said Pastor Boucher. "It's always someone else, somewhere else. Life, even though it's so fragile and can go any moment, is not all there is. There is life beyond."
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Officials say the crash caused minor damage to the church. They continue to investigate the cause of the accident.
