Passenger Ejected, Killed as Apparently Stolen Car Rams Driver at Red Light

The driver of a crashed car that Philadelphia police said was stolen just days earlier "limped away" from the wreck that left his teenage passenger dead on Roosevelt Boulevard late Monday night.

The crash happened around 11:45 p.m. at the Roosevelt Boulevard and Rising Sun Avenue, Philadelphia police said. When police officers and medics arrived they found two damaged cars -- a 2021 Kia and a 2006 Honda -- and a man dead in the median between the northbound lanes of U.S. Route 1.

"We believe, according to accident investigators, that speed was a factor," Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.

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A driver had stopped his Honda at a red light on the inner lanes of the northbound Boulevard when the speeding Kia slammed into the rear of the Honda, investigators and witnesses said.

The force of the wreck caused the Kia to flip over several times while crossing the grass median to the outer lanes, police said.

"The light was red, the vehicle was speeding, lost control," crash witness Elvin Gonzalez said. He said that one person crashed out of car as it was flipping over.

Gonzalez said he ran over to the passenger to offer help, "but it was too late." Police later identified the deceased passenger as a 16-year-old from the West Oak Lane neighborhood.

The driver "limped away" as he fled from the wreck, Small said.

Car parts wound up scattered on the roadway, investigators said.

Police ran the Kia's VIN and found that the car was reported stolen just days earlier and just a few blocks away from where the crash occurred.

"More than likely that's the reason why the driver of Kia fled the scene of the accident, due to the fact that the vehicle was in stolen status," Small said.

The Honda driver remained on scene and wasn't seriously hurt, Small said. He was later hospitalized in stable condition.

Police found several cellphones at the scene that they hope would help track down the driver, Small said.