Two women are in the hospital after the dirt bike they were riding struck another vehicle in Frankford Monday night.
It happened at the intersection of Kensington and Castor avenues underneath the El train just before 8:30 p.m. when police and paramedics got a report for a car crash, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
When police arrived on the scene, they found a red Honda dirt bike laying on its side and there were two women laying in the street.
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One of the women, who appeared to be in her early 20s, wasn't conscious and had trauma to her head and neck area, Small said. The other woman, 24, had damage to her torso and hip but was awake. They were both transported to the hospital.
The 24-year-old was placed in stable condition and the unconscious woman was placed in extremely critical condition, police said.
"Unknown whether or not she's going to survive the injuries," Small said.
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Preliminary information determined that the women were operating an illegal dirt bike with no turn signals, no lights and no license plates, Small said.
"To be driving them on the street is very, very dangerous but to be driving them at night just goes to show how dangerous this can be," Small said. "More than likely other drivers on the road can't even see this vehicle since it doesn't have a headlight or any lights."
The two women were riding on the dirt bike southbound on Kensington Avenue, investigators said. At the same time, a blue Ford Explorer was traveling northbound on Kensington Avenue. As the Ford Explorer made a left turn onto Castor Avenue, the dirt bike went around an SUV and then struck the Ford Explorer, according to investigators.
The driver of the Ford, a man in his early 40s, did remain on the scene and is cooperating with police. His car sustained damage to the right front passenger side, officials said, but there were no reports that the man was injured.
Small said there was a helmet on the scene, but they are not sure if either of the women was wearing it or which one might have been.
At this time the women have not been identified by police.
An investigation into the incident is ongoing.
Dirt bikes and ATVs are illegal to ride or park on any sidewalk or public property in Philadelphia. Residents in Philadelphia's Juniata Park neighborhood -- which borders Frankford -- told NBC10 the vehicles are still part of the city's cultural fabric however.
"Yeah, that's never going to leave," Cheyanne Elam told NBC10. "If we're doing this, let's be smart about it. Have fun. Don't be dumb. Get on the streets. Follow the rules because it's our own community that's getting hurt."
Dirt bike and ATV riders who break the law must forfeit their vehicle or pay a $2,000 fine. Elam believes there should be designated lots for people to ride the vehicles.
"If it was actually community-ran, so they felt they knew it was their space," she said. "They can operate and feel safe in their own community. Maybe they wouldn't be on the streets as much."
The Philadelphia Police Department's Off-Road Vehicle (ORV) detail is tasked with stopping illegal riding on city streets involving off-road vehicles, including ATVs and dirt bikes. The ORV has arrested 20 people for fleeing and eluding officers and removed 18 firearms from the streets, according to police data.
The ORV has also confiscated 290 off-road vehicles in the city so far in 2024, already exceeding the full year totals of 186 confiscations in 2023 and 218 confiscations in 2022, police said. There was a total of 478 confiscations in 2021 and 415 in 2020, according to police data.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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