Drag Racers Kill Two In Center City Hit And Run

INQUIRER: The crash happened about 1:45 a.m. when the Buick, northbound on North 16th Street, ran a red light and slammed into a Toyota Corolla, which was westbound on Vine Street. The two men in the Buick then jumped into a Pontiac, which sped away down the nearby on ramp to the westbound Vine Street Expressway, Police Chief Inspector Scott Small told reporters at the scene. The Buick was last seen westbound on I-76 at Montgomery Avenue, he said. Two men in the Toyota were pronounced dead at the scene. Their bodies, covered by sheets, were still in the mangled vehicle when police loaded it on to a flatbed and took it away after 7 a.m. Police found a .40-caliber handgun in the Buick and said they had traced the car’s registration to a woman in Southwest Philadelphia. The Buick ran into the Toyota with such speed and force, it ended up about 50 feet away from the intersection. Moments before the crash, a patrol officer had noticed the Buick and four other vehicles leave a nightclub at 15th and Arch Streets. The officer radioed an alert for backup after spotting the Buick disregard traffic lights. MORE