Speeding blamed for accident that killed three

The 2015 black Chevrolet Camaro that slammed into a parked tractor-trailer, killing three women in Holmesburg early Sunday, was speeding, perhaps more than double the 35-m.p.h. limit, investigators said.

Police said Amonie Nicole Barton, 25, of Yeadon, was driving the rented car. Giavanna Scavo, 22, of Northeast Philadelphia, was in the passenger seat.

The third victim, seated in the back, has not yet been identified, police said Monday.

Barton lost control of the car, which was northbound, and it hit the truck head-on. Capt. John Wilczynski of the Accident Investigation Unit said the truck was legally parked on Torresdale Avenue near Rhawn Street.

The accident happened at 2:45 a.m. Investigators said they did not yet know where the women were headed or where they had been. Police could not say whether alcohol was involved, or whether the driver was distracted.

"It's early in the investigation," Wilczynski said. "There could have been some kind of a distraction, without a doubt."

Wilczynski said there was no history of serious accidents on that stretch. "Clearly, this car was going much in excess of 35, probably at least double of that," Wilczynski said. "Speed was a major factor of this crash."

The Camaro burst into flames, as did the truck. The crash started a chain reaction of explosions and coated the road with pesticides that were in the truck.

The Philadelphia Fire Department said its hazmat team responded. Fuel spilled from the crash caused another parked truck to become engulfed in flames, authorities said.

A Comcast spokeswoman said the fire severed fiber-optic lines, causing an outage near the accident.

The Camaro, Wilczynski said, was rented from Enterprise. Investigators did not immediately know who rented it.

"It was a horrific crash," Wilczynski said, "and they all died immediately from that crash."

When Scavo was 3, her father dropped her off at her grandmother's Lawncrest home after a weekend visitation. Keith Scavo then murdered her mother, her mother's boyfriend, and her grandmother in a rampage stemming from a custody dispute.

Giavanna Scavo was struck in the shoulder during that hail of gunfire on March 23, 1997. Her father died in 2001 while on death row.

Scavo, according to a death notice written by her family, attended Pennsylvania State University.

mgelb@philly.com215-854-2928 @MattGelb