Info sought in student's death

When 15-year-old Kayla Peterwas killed by a speeding car on Ridge Avenue in East Falls two years ago, the driver fled, and was later sentenced to jail.

And police are now probing whether La Salle University student Steven Amarillo Jr., killed by a cab in the same 4800 block of Ridge Avenue early Sunday, had been with friends who fled the scene before police arrived.

"There's some indication that he had companions with him, but we're still looking for them," Sgt. Albert Gramlich, of the accident investigation division, said yesterday.

"If they were buddies or friends, you'd think they would have stayed."

Police said the cab driver stayed at the scene. He was not charged.

On Monday, Sgt. Larry Ritchie urged anyone with information on the incident to help "shed some light on why a 21-year-old kid would decide to run out between two cars."

Ritchie said police are not 100 percent sure Amarillo had been with friends. But he said there were reports of pedestrians leaving the scene.

"All we're asking is, if anybody was out there and saw anything to come forward and talk to us so we can try to give this family some peace of mind," Ritchie said.

He said it appears that Amarillo, of Poughkeepsie, N.Y., a computer-science student, had darted into the street and was hit by the cab shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday.

He had started his junior year Aug. 27. In Poughkeepsie, Amarillo was an only child who grew up surrounded by his mother, aunts and uncles and several cousins who said they considered Steven to be "like a brother."

His father was separated from his mother, but was very involved in his life, said a cousin, Sindy Amarillo, 27. "He had a lot of love," she said.

Sindy Amarillo said that losing Steven was especially hard because family members don't know exactly what happened .

"We can sit here and make up stories in our minds," she said. "But we don't have a clear story yet."

People who live in the 4800 block of Ridge Avenue, near School House Lane, said they constantly hear cars screeching around the narrow, curving avenue.

"Every night we hear the tires screeching and we wait for the bang," said a 24-year-old woman, who declined to give her name.

"If there's no bang, we just go on," she said, indicating that she and her roommates hold their breath until they see if there's been another accident.

But early Sunday, just as she was about to go to sleep, she heard a screech. Then she heard a bang. She called 911.

She said Amarillo's family members knocked on her door Sunday afternoon because she had given her address to police when she called 911.

They asked a lot of questions, but the woman said she had only heard the accident and hadn't seen it. No one on the block knew Steven; his family said he lived in nearby Manayunk.

But the young woman and other residents put up a memorial of candles, flowers and a photo of Steven for the family, she said.

At La Salle yesterday, Dean of Students Joseph Cicala said the university will provide bus transportation for anyone who wants to go to Amarillo's funeral tomorrow in Poughkeepsie .

He said counseling is also available for students.

"We have a very close and closely knit community, and there are a number of ways for people to connect to one another," he said.

"Also, our eyes and ears are out for students who may be in particular need."

Advisers held a special meeting for Amarillo's Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity brothers Sunday, and the fraternity members as well as former crew team members attended a prayer service for Amarillo Sunday night.

On Monday some students said the campus was taking Amarillo's death pretty hard because three students died last year.

Actually, Cicala said yesterday, four current or former students died last year, all under unrelated circumstances .

A university spokesman said one died in a car accident, another from an illness and the other two from undisclosed causes.

Police said tipsters can call accident investigations at 215-685- 3180 or 3181. *