Woman with wheelchair killed in Fairmount Park hit-and-run, police say

PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia police are investigating a deadly hit-and-run in Fairmount Park early Tuesday morning.

Just before 2 a.m., police said a woman, who may have been in a wheelchair, was crossing the street at Reservoir and Diamond drives when she was struck by a car.

“We know that this female was hit with such force that she was launched out of one of the boots that she was wearing,” said Chief Inspector Scott Small.

After the crash, at least two drivers saw the woman in the middle of the street and told police that she was semiconscious. However, she was pronounced dead soon after officers and medics arrived.

There was a heavily damaged wheelchair near the unidentified victim. Pieces of the chair were scattered in the street. Police believe the woman was either in the wheelchair or pushing it when she was hit.

There was also debris left behind from the gray or silver car that hit the victim, according to investigators.

Police are trying to figure out who the driver is and where that person went. There were no witnesses, but police are looking through footage from real-time crime cameras located north and south of the crash site to see if the car involved was caught on video.