West Philadelphia

SUV driver strikes, kills man crossing West Philadelphia street

A man died after being struck while crossing North 63rd Street in West Philadelphia on Nov. 1, 2024

NBC Universal, Inc.

A man crossing a busy West Philadelphia street was struck and killed by a speeding SUV driver who didn't stop early Friday morning, investigators said.

The deadly hit-and-run took place around 1:20 a.m. along the 200 block of North 63rd Street, Philadelphia police said.

The driver -- possibly in a white SUV -- was going northbound "at a high rate of speed" when they struck a 67-year-old man, police said.

Medics rushed the man to a nearby hospital where he died about two hours later, investigators said.

Police gave no further information about the deadly hit-and-run and didn't name the victim.

One neighbor, Ronald Kelley has been living on this block since the 1990's and said that this was a tragic but unsurprising incident.

"Even in the mornings, people would just be speeding, going fast. No one wants to stop," Kelley said.

Investigators asked anyone with information is asked to call the police Crash Investigation Division at 215-685-3181. Police said people can also call the tip line at 215-686-8477 or submit info online.

The deadly prevalence of hit-and-runs in Philadelphia

This was one of two deadly hit-and-runs in Philadelphia overnight as a woman was knocked out of her shoes in Northeast Philadelphia.

At least 45 pedestrians have died so far this year in the city, according to public police information. More than half of those have been hit-and-runs.

It's increasingly more common for people to flee the scene.

Prior to the COVID pandemic, hit-and-runs only accounted for one out of every four pedestrian-involved deadly crashes. Both last year and now this year, it is up to one out of every two.

Police have only made three arrests in pedestrian-related fatalities this year. Since 2019, police have only made arrests in about 11% of these crashes.

Contact Us