A woman died after a car slammed into the ATV she was operating on a road in Northeast Philadelphia Thursday night.
The crash took place along State Road near Rhawn Street in the Holmesburg neighborhood just after 9 p.m. Thursday, Philadelphia police said.
Police officers and medics found Victoria Rose Walker with severe head trauma on the ground near the crashed Yamaha ATV, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said. The 29-year-old Northeast Philadelphia woman would die about an hour later at the hospital.
"This is just a tragic accident," Small said.
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Witnesses told investigators that Walker was riding the quad with a group of several other dirt bike and ATV riders northbound in the southbound lanes of State Road, Small said. Walker then went into the northbound lanes to avoid oncoming traffic in the southbound direction.
The driver of a Kia Rio was driving north in the "proper lane" when he struck the back of the ATV, Small said. He remained on the scene and helped render some aid and assistance ahead of first responders arriving.
Other riders Walker was with stuck around in the moments after the crash, but didn't speak to police.
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"The people she was riding with left the scene when police arrived," Small said.
Walker's family disputed the claim that no one remained with Walker after the crash, attorney Chris Bagnato said.
"No one left the scene of the accident but family stayed with her and called the police and extended family when the accident occurred," Bagnato said.
Walker was wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, Bagnato said.
The quad the woman was riding was not permitted on city streets, police said.
"It was not street legal, it's not registered, no license plate, no turn signals," Small said.
No charges were filed as of Friday morning as the crash remained under investigation.
Small said that driving dirt bikes and ATVs on city streets -- something that becomes more common to see during warmer weather -- is not safe.
"Sometimes they're doing stunts, they're riding wheelies, they're going the wrong way on one way streets or they're riding on the wrong side of the road like they were today," Small said. "It's very, very dangerous."
