‘A brave man': Resident stops dirt biker from fleeing after striking officer

A Philadelphia police officer suffered injuries after a young man operating an illegal dirt bike collided with him at a Northeast Philadelphia intersection Wednesday night.

A neighbor jumped into action to help just after 9:30 p.m. on Oct. 6, 2024, after a Philadelphia police highway patrol sergeant on a motorcycle was traveling west on Stanwood Street in the Holmesburg neighborhood when he collided with an illegal dirt bike at the intersection of Stanwood and Leon streets, Police Inspector Scott Small said.

Léelo en español aquí.

Small said, according to witnesses, the person on the dirt bike was going at a high rate of speed and ran through a stop sign, striking the highway patrol sergeant on the left side.

Small said the dirt bike is not street legal. It had no license plate, no front or rear lights and no turn signals. The dirt bike was confiscated by police.

Both drivers fell off their respective bikes in the collision.

The 22-year-old dirt biker attempted to get up and flee on his bike. That is when a witness and a neighbor intervened to stop him from getting away, Small said.

The highway sergeant was able to get up and helped to subdue the dirt bike rider while officers arrived.

"The neighbor did a great job, clearly a brave man," Small said.

The highway sergeant sustained injures to his left ankle and left side. He was transported to the hospital to be treated, Small said.

The operator of the dirt bike was not injured but was taken to the hospital since he was involved in a crash, Small said.

The 22-year-old suspect was not cooperating with the police and refused to give his name. Small said he only gave his date of birth, which is how police learned how old he is.

In addition to the witnesses, Small said there are private surveillance cameras in the area that they hope captured the incident.

This investigation is ongoing.

At this time there is no further information from the police.