Man dies after jumping off overpass while fleeing crash scene, police say
PHILADELPHIA -- Philadelphia police say a man who jumped off the Roosevelt Boulevard Extension to flee officers after a head-on collision has died.
The collision occurred around 4:10 p.m. Thursday in the southbound lanes of the Boulevard Extension near the Ridge Avenue off-ramp in East Falls.
Family members say Venice Brown and her daughter Annette were in the other vehicle and are lucky to be alive.
"My niece told me that my sister wasn't breathing at first, so my brother ran out the house," family member Oseas Doamaral said.
Oseas and Pedro Doaramal rushed to Hahnemann University Hospital the moment they were alerted of the accident by Annette.
"She said they were on a clear road, the next thing she knew - boom - and he hit her out of nowhere," Oseas said.
Chopper 6 caught the moments after police say the 29-year-old suspect sped north in southbound lanes with his girlfriend's 52-year-old mother in the backseat.
Seconds after crashing, police say he tried to flee on foot.
"He jumped off the overpass onto Ridge Avenue which is about a 30 feet high drop," Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said.
He was taken to Temple University Hospital with a broken leg and fractured skull. He was pronounced dead at 8:41 p.m.
Police say this all started as a domestic incident in the 4800 block of Germantown Avenue.
A neighbor who did not want to be identified tells Action News he gave the suspect's girlfriend his phone to call for help.
Police say the man had been in a car with his girlfriend and her mother when the girlfriend jumped out of the vehicle.
"Her mother tried to get out of the car, but her boyfriend pulled off before she was able to get out of the car," the man said.
Police believe the suspect was under the influence of narcotics or alcohol at the time of the crash.
Officials say Venice Brown, her daughter, and the girlfriend's mother are at Hahnemann in stable condition
