3 dead in ‘high speed’ crash in NE Philly

NBC10’s Drew Smith has the story from Bustleton.

The Acura split in half.

A 20-year-old male was found in critical condition near the vehicle, while the driver is now hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. “They have a responsibility to give information on what they saw”. NBC10’s Monique Braxton has the latest. Later Thursday morning, they said were looking into the possibility the driver was ‘drifting, ‘ or intentionally causing the vehicle to fishtail sideways. Wilczynski said it’s estimated the cars were going over 75 miles per hour. He said the other vehicle, which did not stop, appeared on video to be traveling about the same speed.

“We have people now that are dead as a result of this”, Wilczysnki said. The driver of the auto, Jimmy Pearce II of Zebulon, NC has been charged with three counts of second degree murder along with other charges in the incident. Police say Rhoads, and the other girl, were ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. He was later transported via Medevac to a Jefferson University Hospital trauma center for surgery. He remained in critical condition Thursday afternoon. “I don’t know if they were exactly racing, but they were certainly going fast”, said Wilczynski.

“It only takes a second to lose control of a vehicle and have a senseless loss of life”, Philadelphia Police Captain Deshawn Beaufort told 6ABC. “I’m still trying to get my family through this, and deal with this on my own as well”. Police say the victims were in their late teens or early 20s. “Speed did it, recklessness did it”, the AID commander said. Investigators say they haven’t gotten much information from him, saying he was traumatized and didn’t remember much about the crash.