Police: Driver Believed To Be Under The Influence Strikes Person, Several Cars In North Philly
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Police say a driver struck several parked cars and a person, then kept driving in North Philadelphia late Thursday morning. Chopper 3 was over the scene on the 200 block of Allegheny Avenue.
Police say the driver was pulled over and taken into custody in the area of 4th and Allegheny. Authorities say it is believed the driver was under the influence at the time of the accident.
John Molinari says his cuts and bruises are hardly anything compared to what he witnessed on Thursday morning. He was near the intersection of 2nd and Allegheny in Fairhill around 11:20 a.m. when a car violently struck a pedestrian.
"I heard boom and looked up and I seen a body flying in the air and he hit the ground and he slid like almost two feet from my car," Molinari said. He added that his first priority was to check the victim, but that quickly changed.
"I jumped out to see if I could help the guy, but then I seen he took off so I jumped back in my car and I spun around and I chased him down and he was beeping and he wouldn't stop."
Philadelphia Police say they believe the driver was under the influence of either drugs or alcohol. Within two blocks, he went up on the sidewalk then backed across the street and smashed into a car.
Molinari says he and two other me wrestled with the suspect and almost got run over in the process.
"The car door hit me, I fell under. I messed my knee all up. My hands are all cut up and then we finally got the keys out and we held him until the cops came."
The suspect was quickly placed under arrest and the victim was taken to Temple University Hospital in critical condition. Several witnesses gave matching accounts about the collision and then hit and run suspect pausing momentarily before speeding off.
Why did you get involved?
"It just seemed like the right thing to do," Molinari said. "He would have got away."
