On Wednesday night, state police acknowledged the pursuit Wednesday that ended with a fatal crash in Upper Chichester Township that killed occupants of the suspect vehicle.
The crash occurred shortly after 1:30 p.m. as troopers were pursuing a car whose driver fled during a traffic stop. In a press release, troopers called that vehicle suspicious, and that there were seven occupants.
Troopers said, “The operator of the vehicle failed to yield to the member’s emergency lights and siren, and a vehicle pursuit ensued. The pursuit ended on Conchester Highway at the Chichester Avenue overpass when the operator of the vehicle became involved in a one-vehicle crash, during which multiple occupants of the fleeing vehicle were killed.”
The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Trooper Eugene Tray at the Philadelphia station at 215-452-5216.
A later post by another emergency services agency suggested more, if not all, of the occupants of the car died.
The police radio traffic on the Southwestern sector of Delaware County communications provided this account Wednesday:
Those officers were advised about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday that troopers were in pursuit of shoplifting suspects in a red Taurus with dark tinted windows on Route 322 at speeds of 100 mph.
The occupants of the vehicle were said to have been involved in a retail theft at Lululemon in Concord Township. The municipal officers said little after being told of the pursuit.
Within moments, the crash was reported at Conchester and Chichester.
First crews on scene reported fire in the engine compartment of a vehicle with five people trapped, and people down on the highway.
“Call Crozer and figure out how many level 1s they can take,” came a call amid heavy fire and EMS radio traffic. Also, that there were five ALS trucks en route.
Further clarification came: Four heavily entrapped with one down on the roadway. Two medical helicopters were asked to fly, then a third.
One DOA was reported at 1:50 p.m. A second DOA reported at 1:57 p.m.
At 2 p.m., only the driver remained entrapped in the car, then the third DOA was reported at 2:05 p.m.
It is unclear how many of the rest of the occupants survived. The radio traffic showed the trauma centers in the area were all put on alert and it is likely the injured were sent to different hospitals.
Township police advised that “(Route) 322 from Chelsea Parkway to Creek will be closed due to a fatal accident. Please try to avoid the area.” At 7:30 Wednesday night that post had not been revised.
George Johnson was working outside his house near the highway and heard the crash.
“We were right here working in the back working on a boat. We heard the cop cars coming down 322. They were coming pretty fast. Then we heard the bang,” Johnson said.
The crash happened on the bridge that goes over Chichester Avenue. It is uncertain if the Ford lost control and struck the bridge abutment or something else caused the crash.
The vehicle ended up in the westbound lane of the highway.
On Wednesday night, the Upper Chichester Fire Department briefly posted this, but then took it down:
At approximately 1:30 p.m. this afternoon, Company 10 was dispatched to the Conchester Highway (322) and Chichester Ave for a vehicle accident with injuries and fire.
Chief and Assistant 10 arrived on scene to find a single vehicle that struck a bridge abutment traveling at a high rate of speed after a police pursuit.
Upon further investigation, crews found 5 occupants heavily entrapped inside of a 4 door sedan with active fire in the engine compartment.
2 additional patients were also found outside of the vehicle.
Due to the large number of patients and conditions on scene an EMS Mass Casualty Incident was declared, bringing multiple ambulances to the scene and several medical helicopters to the Fury Road Field (established as a landing zone).
Rescue 10 and Squad 10 along with the Claymont Fire Company and Aston Twp. Fire Dept worked for over 20 minutes to extricate the occupants and extinguish the fire.
Unfortunately, multiple patients sustained injuries incompatible with life and were pronounced dead on scene. We later learned several of the other occupants were pronounced deceased at area hospitals.
The following agencies were also on scene or assisted. We sincerely appreciate their hard work and support during this challenging incident.
Upper Chichester Township Police DepartmentBoothwyn EMS: MICU 140PA State PoliceUpper Chichester Township Fire PoliceBethel Twp. Hose Co.#1Multiple units from Crozer EMSConcordville Fire & Protective Association EMSBrookhaven Fire Co. Station 52 EMSAston Township Fire Department EMSRiddle Hospital EMSDelaware County Emergency ServicesJeffSTAT Critical Care Transport
