Kensington

Driver Strikes Man, Gets Out to See Him on Ground, Drives Off

The victim may have been on the ground, bleeding heavily, for up to 10 minutes before someone flagged down an officer, police said

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Philadelphia police are searching for a driver who they say struck a man in the Kensington neighborhood, got out of the car to see the victim bleeding heavily on the ground and then drove off, running over the man’s legs.

The crash happened on the 2700 block of Front Street early Friday morning, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said. A person flagged down a police officer shortly before 2:30 a.m. and told him of the victim lying on the ground, but nearby police surveillance video indicated the man may have been there for up to 10 minutes prior, Small said.

“The fact that this victim may have been laying there for several minutes, bleeding heavily, of course does nothing but exacerbate the injury, and the chance of survival goes down the longer he’s lying there being untreated,” the chief inspector said.

The man, who may be in his late 30s or early 40s, was apparently crossing the street when the driver of a silver SUV, possibly a Jeep Grand Cherokee, struck him, Small said. He sustained severe head trauma and was left in “very critical” condition.

The male driver and his female passenger got out of the car, saw the man on the ground, but then got back in and drove off, running over the man’s legs in the process, Small said.

When the officer found the victim, he was unresponsive. Paramedics took him to Temple University Hospital, where he was undergoing emergency surgery.

Investigators were gathering more surveillance video in the area to try to track down the suspects. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Philadelphia Police Department.

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