Eight Injured After Car Crashes into Crowd
The driver, whose SUV hopped the sidewalk, sending it straight into partygoers, will be charged with DUI.
A block party in Philadelphia, Penn., ended in devastation on Monday after a vehicle plowed through a crowd of people, sending eight injured adults – including a 21-year-old pregnant woman – to hospitals. The driver, whose SUV hopped the sidewalk around 4:15 p.m., sending it straight into partygoers, will be charged with DUI.
Witnesses described the scene on South Ringgold Street to local reporters: "People was flying. People underneath cars. I've never seen anything like this in my life."
"She came down the street. She ran over old people. It was like eight people with a pregnant girl and kids out there,” Kamileh Muhammad, another witness, said, “she ran over them on top of them. The car was over top of them."
Neighbors and friends of all ages were gathered to celebrate Eunice Ector’s 80th birthday and have a back-to-school party for the local children in Point Breeze – the South Philadelphia neighborhood is popular; Zillow recently named it the city’s hottest neighborhood of the year.
"They came out just for me," Ector said
The driver told police she was trying to drive her car around the partygoers when her brakes failed, causing her to crash into the crowd of people. Police later confirmed Monday evening that the woman would be arrested and charged with DUI.
Authorities said no one hit by the car, whose ages range from 21 to 94 years old, suffered any life-threatening injuries.
Officer Tanya Little, a police spokeswoman, told reporters they were transported to Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, and Hahnemann University Hospital for treatment of bumps, bruises and complaints of pain.