Police officer dies after North Philadelphia motorcycle accident

This post has been updated

Milan Merke, a Philadelphia Police officer who was badly injured in a motorcycle accident Friday night, was pronounced dead at 8:26 p.m. at Hahnemann University Hospital Thursday, police said.

Merke, 28, of Feltonville, was riding his motorcycle south on Broad Street just before 8 p.m. on June 8 when he was hit by a blue Chevrolet that was turning left from Broad Street onto Master. Merke was on his way to the Midnight Run for Peace, a motorcycle rally to promote non-violence.

The impact of the crash threw Merke from his Honda motorcycle — which was lying in pieces in the intersection when police and medics arrived. Police in the Accident Investigation Division said Merke was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.

The driver of the Chevrolet remained on the scene afterward, and Officer Tanya Little, a police department spokeswoman, said the crash remains under investigation.

Merke worked with the department for just over four years and was assigned to the 35th District, which covers East Oak Lane, Oak Lane, Olney, Logan, Ogontz and Fern Rock.