Off-duty officer killed in crash on way home from work: Police
By Corey Davis
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PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) — An off-duty Philadelphia police officer was killed in a car crash while in his personal vehicle on the way home from work, according to authorities.
It happened just after midnight Friday at the intersection of Bustleton Avenue and Rennard Street in the city’s Somerton section.
“We know that this off-duty police officer who just got done work is 50 years of age and he has 27 years with the police department, so this is a real tragedy,” said Chief Inspector Scott Small of the Philadelphia Police Department.
Small said the officer was a few blocks from his home when the crash happened.
According to police, an 18-year-old was driving a BMW at a high rate of speed on Bustleton Avenue when he T-boned the officer, who was traveling on Rennard Street.
The BMW struck the passenger side of the officer’s Hyundai sedan.
After the impact, the 18-year-old then crashed head-on into a tree.
The teenage driver and the 16- and 17-year-old passengers who were in the car with him suffered minor injuries and declined medical treatment, police said.
Medics rushed the officer to the hospital where police said he was pronounced dead.
Witnesses told investigators the 18-year-old was speeding down Bustleton Avenue right before the crash.
“According to accident investigators, the damage to both of these vehicles is so heavy that they believe speed was a factor,” Small said. “It doesn’t appear that there was any drunk driving. It does not appear that there were any narcotics involved. The driver of the striking vehicle does not appear to have been impaired in any way.”
Officers released the 18-year-old to his family on scene after he passed a field sobriety test and they determined he was not impaired.
Small said this is an ongoing investigation and that charges are still possible as they work to gather additional evidence.
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