Police officials are investigating after, they said, a man attacked people who tried to help him after he crashed a vehicle in West Philadelphia on Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2025.
A man was arrested on Tuesday after, officials said, he crashed a car in West Philadelphia and then attacked two people who tried to help him when he was found next to his burning vehicle.
And, officials said, the man has been hospitalized after he was pepper sprayed and hit with a stun gun.
This all unfolded at the intersection of Sweetbriar and Lansdowne drives on Tuesday, Feb. 25 around 11:15 a.m. when a person saw the man -- who police have not yet provided further identifying information on -- standing next to a Toyota sedan that was on fire after it crashed into a tree, a spokesperson with the Philadelphia Police Department said.
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When the person who wanted to help approached the man by the car, police officials said they believed the driver of the vehicle seemed to be "under the influence of an unknown substance" and became aggressive.
The person accused the man of chasing him and trying to assault him, but police officials said, this individual was able to get back to his car and move away from the man.
While in his car, officials said, the individual told police he watched as a second person approached the aggressive driver with an offer to help, only to be attacked by this man.
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In an effort to help, the individual, who had retreated to their car, ran to the attack and pepper sprayed the aggresive driver, officials said.
This caused the aggressive driver to steal a silver-colored BMW 530i -- that was driven by the second person who had arrived with an offer to help -- and drive away, according to police.
But, police officials said, the man came back to the scene just two or three minutes later and tried to run over both of the people who had initially tried to help before crashing the BMW into a ravine.
The man got out of the BMW and walked over to where the Toyota was still burning -- and firefighters had arrived in an effort to extinguish the flames.
This time, officials said, the man grabbed fallen tree branches and attacked the fire crews at the scene.
Philadelphia Police Department officers arrived and used an electronic control device on the man before placing him under arrest, officials said.
The man was taken to a nearby hospital where he is being treated for his injuries, police officials said.
An investigation into this incident is ongoing, according to police.
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