PHILADELPHIA – Chester Pike is back open after a chaotic scene unfolded Monday morning, involving a multi-car crash that sent several people to the hospital.
What we know:
The crash happened just after 10:00 a.m., shutting down Chester Pike between Summit Ave. and Amosland Rd. for about three hours.
A reckless driver in a Corvette is believed to have caused the crash, which impacted both eastbound and westbound lanes.
The crash caused one car to flip and crash into a business, hitting a gas line.
Two other cars went off the road, hitting several parked vehicles at C&B Motors wholesale lot.
What they’re saying:
“Around 10 o’clock, I heard a loud boom. All the guys came out and we saw cars flipped over, smoke, people lying on the side of the road,” said Dean Grivas, manager at C&B Motors. “It was crazy, it was insane, something I’ve never seen happen, and I’m still actually in shock to see what happened and just fortunate that everybody survived.”
Emergency response and aftermath
Police say five adults were transported to area hospitals, and all are expected to survive.
Prospect Park Police Chief David Madonna noted that the local fire department and PECO quickly arrived to shut off the gas line and assist the woman trapped in the overturned car.
Chief Madonna: “They had to be extricated, had to cut the roof of the car off and use jaws of life to remove her but very fortunate—could’ve been more serious—could’ve had a fatality.”
Richard Dellabarba, who lives above the business that was hit, expressed his immediate concern for the victim trapped in the vehicle below. “I looked out the window and I could hear the woman screaming,” he said. “I asked if she was ok, someone said they called 9-1-1.”
What we don’t know:
Details about the reckless driver and any potential charges are not yet available.