Police are searching for a woman who ran over a man twice as he stood on a Philadelphia street last week. The incident, which Philadelphia Police Lieutenant John Walker described as "horrifying," was captured on surveillance video.
"I've seen a lot of cases in my career, and to see this car just ram into a person, run them over, and then just back up and run them over again and then slowly just drive off and watch the person squirm on the ground -- it's just a horrifying case," Walker said.
Police say the 25-year-old victim was standing on the corner of 56th Street and Wyalusing Avenue while talking on the phone on Oct. 24 around 4:30 p.m. Suddenly a minivan with a female driver, female passenger and male passenger pulled up next to him. At least one of the people inside the van then began speaking to the victim, police said.
"There seems to be some type of conversation," Walker said. "Something to the effect of, 'I didn't realize you lived in this neighborhood.'"
Walker said the male passenger inside the van then asked another man who was walking nearby whether or not he knew the victim. After the man told him he did not, the male passenger got out of the van and walked toward the victim, police said.
"We believe he's approaching this male to probably fight the person," Walker said.
As the male passenger walked toward the victim, the female driver accelerated, police said. The vehicle struck the victim and knocked him to the ground, causing him to fall underneath the front tire. The driver then ran the victim over and reversed back over the top of his body before leaving the scene.
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Several passengers on a SEPTA bus ran to assist the victim who was taken to Penn Presbyterian Hospital and treated for several traumatic injuries, including a broken pelvis and a fractured femur, police said.
The victim told police he did not know anyone inside the van. Police also say the victim is a transgender man, but they have not determined whether the incident was a hate crime. Walker said it's one of the many possible motives investigators are considering.
"We don't have the motive at this time, but it's always something we look at in these investigations," Walker said. "Obviously, we take those types of crimes very seriously. And we're doing everything we can to ensure that the public is aware of what's happening and also working closely with the transgender community to make sure that if they have any information to assist in this investigation. We're all ears."
Investigators describe the vehicle as a dark blue or burgundy minivan, believed to be a Dodge Caravan or Chrysler Town & Country.
The man who got out of the van appeared to be in his 20s, standing around 6 feet tall and ran off on foot, police said. He walked away after the hit-and-run. Police have not released a description of the two women who were inside the vehicle.
Anyone with information is asked to contact Philadelphia police Southwest Detective Division at 215-686-3183 or submit a tip online.
