Two hurt as car crashes after police chase
RIDLEY PARK » A man fleeing police crashed into a parked car just behind Ridley Middle School Wednesday afternoon, officials said.
The crash, which happened moments before school was dismissed, resulted in a woman trapped and two people injured. No students were involved, according to officials.
The scene unfolded about 2:30 p.m. Police say the Saturn was reported stolen when it was stopped on MacDade Boulevard. The driver, who had two passengers, raced away from police, turning onto Morton Avenue, then Dupont Street, where it crashed.
It created a traffic mess as school buses were stuck behind the accident.
The car struck a parked minivan. The owner, a teacher at Ridley Middle School, said it was thrown 20 yards from where he parked it. The school was temporarily placed on lockdown until officials deemed the area safe.
“I was sitting on the porch when I heard a car go by really fast, like 60, inappropriate for this street,” said Bob Baer of Ridley Park. “Then lots and lots of police cars.”
Mario Vasile lives just one house from where the accident happened. He said he was in his basement cooking ribs when the crash happened.
“I heard, boom, boom boom, then the siren,” Vasile said. “I was like was that an accident, so that’s when I came out.”
Students at Ridley Middle School were briefly locked down as a safety precaution. By 3:15 the lockdown was ended as police quickly arrested the driver, who was also reported injured.
Ridley Park and Prospect Park firefighters and Crozer paramedics worked to free the woman who was in the back seat when the accident happened. Firefighters used hydraulic tools to remove the roof and the car seats to free her leg.
“We were on MacDade on the side by the Wawa. Next you know they pulled us over. it happened so fast I don’t know if the cop even got out of the car to ask for information or whatever,” said the second passenger as he watched firefighters work. “Then he just pulled over and I heard her yell like ‘No, what the hell you doing?’ then here we go, They pulled me out. They checked my license, I said I’m good, I’ve been in school all day. They checked my pockets and gave my ID back.”
The man, a resident of Chester, said he knew the driver casually and the driver had called him to look at a new car.
Police said the car was reported stolen out of Chester.