Police Identify 3 Teens Killed In Violent Crash On Kelly Drive; 2 Other People Injured
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Philadelphia police are investigating an overnight tragedy on Philadelphia's Kelly Drive. A crash involving a car and an SUV killed three teenagers and sent two other people to the hospital late Wednesday night.
Authorities have identified the three teens killed as 18-year-old Joyce Roberts, 19-year-old Julian Durant and 17-year-old Juwan Johnson.
The crash happened near the intersection of Kelly Drive and West Hunting Park Avenue, just after 9 p.m. Wednesday. Police say two vehicles collided after one of them lost control going around the curve.
A captain from the accident investigation division was back on scene Thursday morning to retrieve a cell phone and a set of keys that were left behind, calling this a terrible accident.
Chopper 3 was over the scene Wednesday night on the 4000 block of Kelly. Police say a car with four teenagers was traveling south on Kelly Drive when, for some reason, the driver lost control rounding the curve and crossed into the northbound lane.
An SUV traveling in the opposite direction then crashed into the side of the car.
The 18-year-old driver and her 17-year-old male passenger were killed. Police say there were two other teens in the backseat. Those two male teenagers were rushed to Temple University Hospital in critical condition. A 19-year-old was pronounced at the hospital. The other male is currently listed in critical condition.
A 65-year-old man driving the opposing vehicle, a Honda SUV, was taken to Einstein Hospital in critical condition but conscious at the time.
"Right now this appears to be a two-car accident," Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said. "The Mazda that had the four individuals with the two [three] fatalities appears to have lost control going around the curve and went into the northbound lane and that's when it got struck on the passenger side by the front of the northbound vehicle being driven by the 65-year-old male."
CBS3 has confirmed the female victim in this crash was a sophomore student at Philadelphia Learning Academy – North in the Feltonville section of the city. Emotional support and counseling are being offered to students and staffers at the high school, which has been meeting virtually for classes due to the pandemic.
Eyewitness News visited the families of the three teens that unfortunately lost their lives in last night's deadly crash. Understandably, their parents are completely distraught and did not want to go on camera.
Two of the victims, Roberts and Johnson were neighbors, living right across the street from each other. One neighbor says this tragedy is a loss for their tight-knit Cedarbrook, East Mount Airy neighborhood.
To say this stretch of Kelly Drive is notoriously dangerous is now a fact.
Last year, the city identified this stretch of Kelly Drive as part of the high injury network, which is 12% of city streets that account for 80% of traffic deaths and injuries.
In the meantime, Mayor Jim Kenney said his administration is prioritizing future safety improvements in areas like this in order to reduce tragedies like this by 2025.
The accident investigation district has processed the scene and the road has since reopened. They're trying to figure out what caused the driver to lose control around that curve, but at this point, police say this appears to be a tragic accident.
CBS3's Jan Carabeo and Alecia Reid contributed to this report.
